A/N: Okay, here it is, Part 4. Sorry it's after midnight Erica...I tried. After all I put you through in the first three chapters I hope this lives up to your expectations. This is the end of this particular fic but I plan to continue my series w/ Bensidy, Noah, and Avery. Avery's birth will probably be one of the next things I write, plus I have some ideas that involve going backwards and writing their wedding, and hitting some of the holidays I missed. Or I may just go forward and write them w/ both Noah and Avery...we'll see. If you missed "Sandcastles & Fireworks" and "He Didn't Have to Be" you should check those out too. Anyway, review and let me know what you think. Enjoy the fluff :)

Remorse coursed through Olivia's veins as the tears continued to fall. Had she made a terrible mistake? Was Brian truly just an innocent victim in all of this, falling prey to her hormone-induced irrational jealousy? There was no question the young blonde had her sights on Brian but as she recalled the events of the afternoon once again she couldn't remember a single action that indicated Brian reciprocated Nikki's feelings. In fact for the majority of the time they had spent in the squad room he had been bragging about her and Noah or double and triple checking that there was nothing wrong with her or Avery.

The more she pondered it, the more she realized Brian had never before given her a reason not to trust him. Ever since they got together he was one hundred percent honest with her. Unlike the parade of men that had passed through her life between their first fling and them becoming a couple thirteen years later, Brian had never done anything to intentionally hurt her. He was always her rock. Always there for her to fall back on, even when she was a complete jerk to him, and no one would have blamed him if he turned and ran. But he didn't run. Not after Lewis, not after her unending moodiness these past few months, not after anything. Not even tonight when she falsely accused him of an affair and basically threw him out. He truly was a saint.

And yet she had treated him like the man-whore everyone expected him to be—everyone but her. Because she knew the real Brian. The rugged, tough as nails on the outside cop with a compassionate heart of gold on the inside. The Brian that held her after every nightmare, never pushing her to talk until she was ready. The Brian who willingly took on the task of raising a child who wasn't biologically either of theirs when he very easily could have just walked away, no regrets. The Brian who selflessly picked up extra hours because she had gotten pregnant when they already had one small child to take care of and then got put on early maternity leave. Olivia recognized that she was the definition of baggage and still he had stood faithfully by her, never once complaining.

She was still tossing all these thoughts around in her head moments later when Brian returned humming a lullaby to a fussy Noah who was cradled affectionately in his arms, a light-weight blanket draped over his back. Olivia removed her hands from her face, wiping away a few stray tears as she did and ruefully traced Brian's path with her eyes.

"I thought he might fall back to sleep faster if I brought him out here to rock him," Brian mumbled as he headed to the armchair to take a seat, swiftly catching Noah's falling pacifier before it hit the floor and popping it back in his mouth.

"That's fine," Olivia replied softly, pained that her tirade had left Brian thinking he had to clear his parenting decisions with her.

Just before Brian sank into the chair, Olivia patted the empty spot on the couch next to her and meekly added, "You can sit over here. If you want."

Brian's first inclination was to say no, not yet ready to accept her peace offering, her words still gnawing at his heart, but one look at the wounded expression marring her stunning features was all it took for his resolution to cave. He could never say no to Olivia. Ever. She was his Achilles heel.

Carefully maneuvering around the coffee table and a few of Noah's toys that littered the floor, Brian made his way to the end of the couch. He took a seat next to Olivia, taking care to ensure there was still a barrier of empty cushion between the two of them, avoiding any physical contact. Olivia, longing to make amends, reached out her hand, intending to rest it on Brian's upper arm. At the last second she changed her mind and placed it on Noah's head instead, gingerly brushing his hair away from his face. Looking down at Noah, she could see that the little boy's eyes were already starting to flutter closed, soothed by the gentle rocking motion and the comforting embrace of his father's arms.

Olivia was grateful that despite the fact that their yelling had woken Noah, he remained oblivious to the tension resonating through the room. The angry outbursts she had witnessed as a child were not a phenomena she wanted her children to become familiar with.

After a few minutes of relative silence passed—the only sounds in the room Brian lightly patting Noah's back and Noah sucking contentedly on his pacifier—Brian finally locked eyes with Olivia, waiting expectantly for what she had to say in response to his painful observation. The hollow look in Brian's eyes scared Olivia, more than she wanted to admit. Had she finally pushed easy-going, laid-back Brian too far? Was he going to walk out on her? Would he try and take Noah with him?

Olivia did her best to turn the destructive voice in her head off, knowing that she had to at least attempt to mend the fence she had broken, hoping that Brian would be willing to hear her out. Her stomach in knots, she gave Brian a tentative smile which he did not return and shifted slightly on the sofa, inching her way toward him. Unable to look at him while she spoke, she averted her gaze, staring intently across the room at a recent family picture hanging on the wall before murmuring, "I'm sorry," in a soft, choked voice.

When Brian didn't immediately respond she wondered if he had heard her. "I said I'm sorry," Olivia repeated, speaking a little louder this time. Hesitantly peeking at his face, she detected no change in his expression.

"I know. I heard you," Brian replied, his tone steady and flat. "What are you sorry for? That you don't trust me? That you had the nerve to accuse me of cheating? That you honestly believed that instead of working long tiresome hours to provide for you and our children that I was out having quickies with a woman half my age?"

Olivia shrunk back, stung by Brian's words. She knew she deserved them but that didn't make hearing them hurt any less. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she fought back a fresh round of tears. Finally she spoke, her voice breaking, much the same way that her heart was. "For all of it. I never should have doubted you."

"No, you shouldn't have," Brian retorted, a little more harshly than he had intended. Seeing the reaction he got from Olivia he softened his tone before continuing. "I made vows before our friends and family, vows that I didn't take lightly, to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of our lives. I meant every last word of that Olivia, you have to know that. I mean, I thought you did. Until tonight."

"I'm sorry. God, I feel like I can't say it enough. I feel so bad about everything I thought, everything I said. You just have to understand what it looked like to me. Here I am, all fat and cranky, and I walk…or should I say waddle…in and see this gorgeous woman fawning all over you, touching you. How do I ever measure up to that? I know it's no excuse; I still should have trusted you. I just…between the hormones, the heat, the lack of sleep, I haven't exactly been on top of my game lately. And every time you talked about Roberts I just assumed she was a he so when she turned out to be a she I was totally caught off guard and-…. Sorry, I know, more excuses…I—"

Brian removed the hand that was rubbing Noah's back and brought it up to cover Olivia's lips, interrupting her ramblings. "Shhhh. You measure up because you're my wife and I love you. No one could ever take your place in my heart or in my bed. Olivia I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but I have not even looked at another woman since that day in the hospital room when you offered to give us a second chance. I would never do anything to jeopardize what we have. And how many times do I have to tell you how attractive pregnancy has made you. I would choose your softly rounded cheeks, glowing skin, shiny hair, and pregnancy enlarged breasts over my emaciated partner's fake tan, bleached hair, and silicone enhanced boobs any day. In fact I'm kind of getting turned on just talking about it."

"Oh please," Olivia said with a laugh. "I am a hot mess most days."

"It's true Liv," Brian replied, his tone turning serious. "And while we're apologizing, I think I owe you an apology too. You were right about one thing. Nikki was coming on to me. I was just a typical oblivious guy and didn't even notice her advances. I mean I was so busy talking about you and Noah and the baby all the time, barely paying attention to her stories, I was impressed I even remembered where she was from when I introduced the two of you today. It wasn't until you acted funny at lunch earlier that I even began to suspect something was up. And then she confirmed it for me tonight on my way out when she basically invited me to come back to her place for a nightcap. Which I of course declined."

Olivia resisted the urge to say "I told you so", opting instead to gratefully accept his apology and his acknowledgement that she hadn't just made the whole scenario up. "It's okay, Bri. I forgive you. And you know I don't hold your past against you, right? I always believed you about Heather and I have never thought of you as "the guy who slept with hookers". You're just Brian—my best friend, the love of my life, and the man I should have given a fighting chance sixteen years ago. I guess I never realized how insecure you were about your past transgressions and I'm sorry I didn't try harder to set those fears at ease." Olivia sighed, leaning up against Brian and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Brian murmured into her hair. "It means a lot to hear you say that."

Just then Noah started to whimper again. His dark brown eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times, before his gaze settled on Olivia.

"Mama," the half-asleep toddler called out for Olivia, stretching his arms in her direction.

"Noah, you're fine. Daddy's got you." Brian tried to soothe the cranky little boy, but Noah continued to wiggle restlessly in Brian's arms, his sobs getting progressively louder.

"Bri, I'll take him." Olivia sat back up and accepted her crying son into her waiting arms. When Noah was snuggled in her embrace, as comfortably as possible given her pregnant belly that kept getting in the way, Olivia fell back in place against Brian's strong frame, relaxing even more when he draped his arm lovingly around her shoulders. It only took a minute or two for Noah to settle himself back to sleep, his tiny hand wrapped firmly around Olivia's finger, snoring softly.

When Brian was certain Noah was sound asleep, he broke the silence again. "Liv, I also need you to know how sorry I am for the comments about Stabler and Amaro. They were completely uncalled for. I guess it's no secret I've always been jealous of Elliot, and well Amaro and I, hell will probably freeze over before that tool decides I'm actually worthy of you. But that doesn't excuse my behavior. I shouldn't have said what I did. I was angry and I just wanted to hurt you as badly as you hurt me. I'm sorry." He smiled at her wistfully, waiting to see if she would be as forgiving of this indiscretion.

Olivia slid her hand onto Brian's thigh and gently ran her fingers up and down his leg as she spoke. "Bri, you never had anything to be jealous of. There was never anything romantic between Elliot and me. He was more of a best friend or the brother I never had growing up. If he gave you the impression there was something more going on, I'm sorry about that, but from my end he was just my partner, nothing more. And actually in retrospect I don't even know how good of a friend he really was. He was always holding me back, telling me no guy was ever good enough for me. Him leaving was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. If he had stayed I may never have found my way back to you and I wouldn't have this amazing life with you and Noah, and soon our little girl too. That's the truth. You've got to believe me."

"I believe you," Brian replied, placing his hand firmly on top of Olivia's and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I never should have doubted you. I promise I'll never bring him up again."

"Thank you. And as for Nick, you can't let his opinion bother you. He doesn't trust anyone; that's who he is. All that matters is I know the real Brian and I'm kind of in love with him." Olivia tilted her head so she was eye to eye with Brian and gave him the first genuine smile he'd seen on her face all day.

"Well that's good," Brian replied with a light chuckle. "Because he's kind of in love with you too." He leaned forward slightly, capturing her lips in a soft kiss that slowly deepened, their tongues intertwined, playfully battling for control. Minutes later they reluctantly broke apart, both gasping for air.

This time as they lay silently, wrapped in each other's arms, the quiet in the room didn't have the same smothering feel. It was a comfortable silence that didn't beg for meaningless words to fill the void. Seconds turned to minutes before either of them even felt the need to speak and ruin the tender moment. Only when it became obvious that Olivia was about to join Noah in the land of slumber did Brian put an end to the stillness.

"I'll tell Tucker tomorrow that he needs to find Nikki a new partner," Brian murmured as he gently ran his fingers through the strands of hair hanging from her disheveled ponytail.

"You don't have to do that. I trust you Brian," Olivia whispered, her eyes drooping as she gently rocked a sleeping Noah in her arms.

"I do," she reiterated when she saw the uncertain look displayed on Brian's face.

"I just have a hard time trusting that good things really can happen for me. And our family—you, Noah, and this baby-," Olivia added, running her hand tenderly across her big belly, pausing for a moment when she felt one of Avery's tiny kicks, "are the best things in my life, better than anything I ever dreamed of. I guess I'm just afraid one day I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be gone. That you'll find someone younger and prettier, that Noah's biological dad will come back and take him away, that something with happen to Avery during childbirth. I know it's irrational, but these are the things I lay in bed at night perseverating over when I can't fall asleep because it's impossible to get comfortable when you're as big as a whale."

"Okay, first off, we've been over this already, you are not as big as a whale. You are carrying our child and you are absolutely beautiful, as beautiful as the first day I laid eyes on you. Would you let me finish?" Brian said with a chuckle when Olivia scoffed at his remarks.

Cupping her cheek gently in his hand, he continued. "Secondly, no one is going anywhere. Noah, Avery, and me, we're here to stay. We're your family and you are stuck with us forever. I love you more than words can express Olivia Cassidy and I am never going to walk out on you. Taylor Swift could walk through that door and ask me to run away with her and I'd tell her, 'Sorry not interested, I've already got the most gorgeous woman in the world'. She'd probably write a song about me then but that's okay.

Brian paused for a minute to laugh at his own joke, earning him an eye roll from Olivia, before adding, "As far as Noah is concerned, Liv, we legally adopted him. He's ours. Even if someone would show up at this point claiming to be his relative, no judge in the world would rip him out of our stable home and just hand him over to some gang member or drug dealer. And I can't promise you that everything is going to go smoothly with Avery's delivery. I wish I could. I would love to take that stress off your shoulders. We just have to have faith that she'll be born healthy with no complications for you or her. We've both waited so long for this, and so far everything has been fine at all your appointments. I just have to believe that if there is a God, he wouldn't let us get this far just to take her away from us at the last minute."

Olivia gave Brian a small smile. He always knew exactly what to say to assuage her fears and apprehensions. It was one of the things she loved most about him.

"Taylor Swift? Really?" she asked with a laugh.

"I don't know. You're the one that has country radio playing. Her song's on so she was the first person that popped into my head. The fact that I couldn't come up with anyone better should be proof enough that I am only interested in one woman—You."

Olivia lifted her head slightly and listened for a moment, chuckling when sure enough she detected the voices of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran softly harmonizing to the lyrics of "Everything Has Changed".

Settling her head back against Brian's shoulder, she asked the only question she still needed answered after their day of misunderstandings, heated arguments, and painful admissions had finally given way to much needed heart-felt apologies and re-declarations of love and eternal devotion. "So are we good?"

Without even a beat of pause Brian responded. "Yeah, I think we are." His reassuring tone and the way he soothingly rubbed Olivia's upper arm as he spoke, successfully put Olivia's fears to rest, all the remaining tension easily evaporating into thin air.

"I think so too." Olivia smiled happily back at him. Her eyelids growing heavy, she fought unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

The action did not go undetected by Brian. "I think somebody's ready for bed. Well actually a couple of somebodies," he said, motioning toward Noah, fast asleep in his mother's arms, his little fist, still clinging tightly to Olivia's finger, resting against his cheek and his tiny mouth slightly ajar.

"Yeah I think you're right," Olivia offered a tired chuckle, exhaustion creeping into her voice.

"Here, let me take Noah back to his crib and then I'll come back to help you up," Brian suggested. Gently removing his arm from around Olivia's shoulder and waiting while she lifted her weary head and gave Noah a couple quick kisses, Brian stood and took their sleeping child from her arms and carefully carried him back to his waiting crib, where he gave Noah a few kisses of his own before tucking the little boy in.

Returning moments later he gave Olivia his arm to brace herself against and then gingerly assisted her into a standing position. After waiting a few seconds for the blood to return to her legs and for her to stretch her lower back, they made their way to their bedroom together, hand in hand, navigating around the discarded books and albums that still needed reshelved. While Olivia struggled to change out of her tank top and gym shorts and into one of Brian's over-sized t-shirts that she loved to sleep in, Brian crossed the room to his dresser and opened the drawer that usually contained his t-shirts and sleep shorts.

Pulling open the drawer, he was instead greeted with neatly arranged rows of socks and underwear. Double checking that he had indeed opened the correct drawer, he turned and looked at Olivia, confusion written on his face. "Liv, where did my pajamas go?"

Olivia finished pulling the shirt down over her head and gave Brian a sheepish smile. "Try the bottom drawer. I may have done a little reorganizing this evening after I put Noah to bed."

"Nesting?" Brian asked with a chuckle.

Olivia just raised her eyebrows and smirked, trying her best to maintain an air of innocence. She finally broke down and laughed with Brian when it took him three more tries to find what he was looking for.

"Next time maybe you could leave me a map," Brian joked with her as he finally slipped out of his work pants and button-down shirt and pulled on his t-shirt and shorts.

"I'll see what I can do. I should warn you that you might have similar problems in the bathroom and the kitchen," Olivia admitted as she eased herself into their bed and curled up on her side, savoring the feeling as her aching muscles sank into their pillow-top mattress.

"And I guess that would explain the half empty bookshelves and the albums strewn all over the living room floor as well?" Brian hedged a guess.

"You would be correct. Oh and I came up with a better way that we can arrange Noah and Avery's room. I'll explain it to you in the morning." The words flew from Olivia's mouth at a rapid speed making them almost unintelligible. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for Brian's reaction, knowing that moving all the heavy furniture a second time would not be a welcome task for Brian.

Hearing Brian's raspy laugh she tentatively opened her eyes and gave him an innocent smile.

"Thank God we've only got another month to go," Brian teased as he climbed into bed next to her, leaning over to give Avery a good-night kiss before laying down on top of the blankets and gently draping his arm over her midsection.

"You're not mad?"

"No. How can I be mad at that cute face? Besides I'm gonna be the buffest guy in all of the NYPD soon."

"You already are," Olivia murmured, flashing him a cheeky smile.

"Okay, now I know you're buttering me up. What else am I going to have to do?"

"Nothing. But you might have to eat Noah's cereal for breakfast tomorrow because yours is gone…Aaaannndd…you might be out of beer and pretzels too."

"More nesting?" he asked.

"More like, anger management." Olivia felt her face getting warm as an embarrassed blush crept across her cheeks.

"There is never a dull moment with you around Olivia Cassidy. And I wouldn't have it any other way." Brian laughed again before he pulled Olivia as close to himself as her belly would allow and planted a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Any other surprises?"

"No I think that's it," she sighed, feeling herself already starting to drift off to sleep.

"Good night Liv."

"Night Bri."

Brian spent the next ten minutes just watching Olivia fall asleep. Enjoying every nuance—the way she would take a few shallow breaths followed by one deep breath, the way her nose twitched involuntarily, the way he could every so often see his daughter's foot or elbow pushing up against Olivia's belly, the way her long eyelashes fluttered as she slipped closer to dreamland. When he was convinced she was asleep he finally closed his own eyes, just as her soft voice pierced the darkness.

"Bri, are you still awake?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "But I thought you were asleep. What's wrong? You're not in labor are you?" Suddenly his eyes popped back open and he stared alertly at his wife, searching for any indication that she was in pain or that her water had broken.

"No, nothing like that," she soothed, reaching up to gently stroke his arm. "I was just thinking about something else that was bothering me earlier. You remember what we promised each other in our wedding vows?"

Brian relaxed, a serene smile replacing the look of sheer panic that had decorated his face just seconds prior. "Yeah of course I do. We promised that no matter how crazy our lives got we'd always remember to take time to just lay down together, no words necessary, to just lay real still, side by side, and appreciate what we have. And most importantly to never get so complacent that we forget to tell each other 'I love you'. I guess we haven't really done that in a couple weeks…not since I started working all these crazy hours. I'm sorry about that, Liv. I miss our quiet moments together."

"I do too," Olivia answered him, sighing lightly.

"It's probably going to get even harder to find these quiet moments once the baby gets here," Brian added, gently caressing Olivia's swollen stomach. "Promise me if you notice me neglecting my promise to you again, you'll let me know right away."

"I will Bri. And you do the same for me too, okay?" Olivia linked her fingers through Brian's hand that was tenderly resting on her abdomen.

"Definitely." Brian lifted their joined hands up to his mouth and sweetly kissed her knuckles, before placing their hands back on top of their unborn child.

"I love you Olivia."

"I love you too, Brian. Always will."

With that, they finally fell asleep, peacefully wrapped in each other's embrace. Life would probably only get more difficult once they added an infant into their already hectic existence, but after tonight they were both confident that together they could handle anything life threw at them. And when the particularly rough days did come, they would always remember to take a timeout from the chaos and lay silently in each other's arms, trusting that their forever love was enough to rejuvenate them and get them through to the other side.

The end :) So was the ending worth the wait? Do you hate me a little less now?