you try not to let your emotions show, but it ain't a balloon you can just let go, it's an ice cream cone dripping in the sun, sticky hands, sticky arms, sticky situation...-Heartbreak Even, Ani DiFranco

~*~

"Simon- I'm going to have a baby…"

"Oh my God! Olivia! That's fantastic! Are you excited?"

"Very excited!" Simon embraced his sister in a hug.

"How far along are you?" he asked.

"Two and a half months."

"Who's the father?"

"Uh, my partner."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to assume a man…"

Olivia felt her heart burst with amusement. "No Simon!" she laughed, "Elliot Stabler. He's my partner on the force."

Simon laughed before cocking his head at Olivia, "Isn't that against the rules?"

Olivia sighed and nodded. "It's frowned upon. They usually transfer someone. But neither of us wanted to give up our jobs. And we didn't want the other to give up their job either. So we decided to keep it under wraps for a while."

"And a while turned into a year and a baby? How did you two even function as a couple? Did you ever do anything outside of busting bad guys and sleeping together?"

Olivia frowned at Simon's concerns but addressed them, "Of course! Everybody knows that we're best friends. That gave us a lot of excuses. Plus, there was always makeout on the stakeout." She winked at Simon who groaned in a very little brotherly manner.

Simon looked at the on the wall behind the stove that Olivia was stirring pasta on. "What time is Elliot getting here?"

"He should be here soon. He was telling his oldest daughter today. This is a big secret for us. Nobody can know because if it gets back to the force- we're done."

"It's a little difficult to hide a baby. How're you going to manage that?"

"We're still figuring out the details. But one thing we needed to do was tell someone who would be happy for us."

"Won't your friends be happy?"

"They will be eventually. But first they're going to be pissed that we hid it from them."

"Then why not tell them straight up?"

Olivia frowned at Simon's challenge and pretended to focus on the pasta in front of her. "Because I don't want them to think that the only reason we're telling them is because of the baby." She shot back.

"Well, isn't it?" Simon was thrown a shocked look from Olivia. He shrugged in response, "Obviously you care about them. But you didn't tell them about your relationship with Elliot for a reason. And if it weren't for the baby you wouldn't even consider telling them anything. Why not just fess up and allow them to adjust and move on?"

"My job-"

Simon cut her off, "Olivia, who knows. Maybe nothing will happen. You two have been working successfully as a couple for a year."

"They worry about corruption- they think couples have covered for each other in the past-"

"Have you?"

"Of course not! Our relationship doesn't affect our jobs. We don't allow it to. We have had feelings for each other for longer than two years… we were worse off as partners when we couldn't be together. We fought more."

"Do you still fight?"

"Of course! We disagree on cases all the time! But we treat each other with respect and we're more patient with each other. And we talk it out now. We're not allowed to ignore each other."

"Sounds like a healthy relationship."

"It is. We're happy. I still love him so much it hurts. We both work incredibly hard to make sure that we respect ourselves and each other and our love. I never knew that a relationship could be like this. It's amazing." Olivia absent-mindedly stirred the pasta.

"Then why hide that?" Simon asked and Olivia turned to face her brother. "You should be celebrating your love! Wanting to shout it from the rooftops! Why are you burying it?"

Olivia's eyes filled with tears as she shook her head at Simon. "I- Because I'm afraid that we'll wreck it. That by changing the secrecy of it- everyone will be waiting for us to fail."

"Olivia, you're having a baby together and you're both happy about it! You didn't trap him. He was so excited that he told his daughter. Olivia- he loves you. Make sure he knows you love him. This is not a one-way street."

Olivia sniffed, smiled and rolled her eyes, "Okay Dr. Phil." She teased. As much as she deflected his speech, he knew the speech had sunk in.

The sudden sound of a key in the door caused the siblings to face the door. Elliot walked in and Olivia rushed from the kitchen into his arms. He staggered slightly with the force she threw her body at him with. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as she breathed in his scent of white musk and sandalwood mixed with the brisk fall air from outside. She buried her face in his broad chest and nuzzled him slightly. He kissed the top of her head and nuzzled his nose into her hair, inhaling the scent of vanilla and boutique flowers and the warm smell of cinnamon buns.

"You okay?" he whispered, sensing she was in slight distress.

"Let's talk about it later." She murmured into his chest.

Simon cleared his throat, causing Olivia to step back from Elliot.

"Congratulations Elliot." Simon held his hand out to Elliot and they smiled as they shook. Simon then took Olivia in a playful headlock.

"You're domesticating my sister. Only a very special guy could do that." Elliot laughed and nodded in agreement.

~*~

Sorry for the short chapter! Coming up... E/O Fluff and someone who wasn't supposed to know... does. Read, Review and Peace out!