April 5

Who's the father? The question had been bouncing around in Elliot's mind since Olivia had told him her news, but he hadn't found a way to ask her yet…as it was she was already accusing him of being overprotective.

"Elliot! I'm fine. I'm not letting you go interview this guy by yourself. Cragen would have my ass if you go all Stabler on some guy and he finds out I let you go alone."

"And he'll have my neck if anything happens to you! Liv, you need to get some rest."

"Okay, you can drop me off at my apartment, after we interview this guy. And, if you keep acting this way, everyone's going to know something's up. So, stop. "

"I just don't want you to overdo it…" She cut him off with a searing glance from the passenger seat. Elliot decided not to ask his question until later, he knew she wouldn't answer if she was upset with him.

After they finished their interview (uneventfully), and he turned towards Benson's apartment. She didn't seem so pissed at him anymore, so maybe it would be safe to ask, he decided. "Uh, Olivia" he ventured as they pulled in front of her building, "I, uh, didn't know you'd been seeing anyone seriously…"

Olivia knew what he was trying to ask her, and she couldn't quite keep the tears out of her voice as she answered, "I wasn't…we went out a few times, but he…left. I called him…he doesn't want anything to do with us." At these words she abandoned all pretense of not crying and burst into sobs. "I'm all alone."

"No, no you're not alone." Elliot attempted to gather Olivia into a hug in the confines of the car. "You have me, and Cragen, Munch and Fin, Alex and Casey, Rollins too. We'll always be there for you and your baby, Liv, we've been family for a long time." Then he just held his partner until she ran out of tears.

April 15

Olivia decided she wanted to tell Alex, Casey, Fin, and Munch at the same time, since she didn't want to listen to them complain about who found out first and last and in between. Nearly two weeks after she told Elliot about her impending motherhood, Benson was finally able to wrangle all of her coworkers (all of the important people in her life) into going out for dinner and drinks. Fin invited the newest member of their team, Amanda Rollins, to join them, which Olivia didn't mind. She was beginning to enjoy having another female in the squad; it made it easier to deal with the testosterone overload. Besides, Rollins had proven that she was a kick ass cop who belonged in SVU.

When Cragen and his detectives arrived at the restaurant, they spotted the two lawyers at a corner table. Alex and Casey had been arguing over how one of them handled some case or another. Though they were both prosecutors and good friends, they had different styles, which sometimes led to conflict. It kept life interesting, and they both enjoyed their "debates".

The group had settled into an easy banter when the waitress arrived to take their drink orders.

Cargen ordered his usual club soda.

"Blended Margarita" Alex had had a good day in court.

"Make that two" Casey added.

Rollins spoke next "Vodka Cranberry."

"Not very Southern belle" joked Fin.

"There's a reason I moved to New York" she shot back.

Fin, Munch, and Elliot all ordered beer.

"And I'll take a Sprite" Olivia spoke quietly, not wanting to be too transparent. However, nothing got by Alex, being a good observer was part of what made her a great prosecutor.

"Sprite? Aren't you the one who wanted to go out for drinks in the first place?"

"Yeah, Benson, what's up with that?" Munch joined in on the questioning.

"Don't feel like it tonight" Olivia evaded, wanting to draw out the moment. By now everyone was staring at her. Elliot and the Captain both had broad smiles, while everyone else looked confused and curious.

"Come on, baby girl, we know you, something's up." Fin had always looked at Olivia like his little sister.

"Well," Olivia caught Elliot's eye and broke into a grin. He looked like he would burst if she didn't tell them soon. "I do have an announcement to make…"

That was as far as she got before Casey- another observant lawyer- let out a gasp. "Oh my gosh, you're pregnant aren't you?"

"Way to ruin my moment, Case!" Olivia said, her smile widening. Munch and Fin turned to stare at Olivia, open-mouthed. They couldn't quite imagine Benson, the cop, pregnant; even though they knew Olivia would be a wonderful mother. She had time to laugh at the expressions on their faces before Casey and Alex converged on her in a group hug. Once the lawyers were done smothering the detective, Fin stood up to give her a hug, followed by Munch and Rollins.

"Judging by the lack of shock and the Cheshire Cat grins on their faces, you already told these two?" Fin jerked his thumb at Elliot and the Captain.

"Yeah," Olivia admitted. "I had to inform my CO and ask him to be Grandpa Don" she added with a smile at Cragen. "Now I'm telling all of the baby's aunts and uncles." This statement resulted in tears from Alex and Casey, plus another hug and a kiss on the top of her head from Fin.

Their drinks arrived and Elliot raised his glass to make a toast. "To my partner, Olivia Benson. She's already a bad ass cop, and now she'll add being a wonderful mother to her resume." Now it was Olivia's turn to cry while congratulations rang out around her. The rest of the evening passed by in a blur of questions about her due date, when she was going on desk duty (Fin and Munch joined Elliot in pressuring her to start right away), and her plans after she had the baby. No one asked about the baby's father, after listening to Olivia talk about her baby it was clear to all he wasn't going to be around.

With her friends surrounding her, Olivia forgot about her worries. It didn't matter if the father wasn't there, she had a family.

May 9

"I'm so freaking sick of desk duty!" Olivia burst out as Casey walked into the nearly empty squad room. Stabler and Rollins had been sent to the hospital to interview a victim, Fin and Munch were at the lab getting a report from the techs, even Cragen was gone to a meeting at 1PP. It was 2:34, she had been riding a desk for just over 5-and-a-half-hours. The guys had been pressuring Olivia to get off the streets since she announced her pregnancy, and Cragen made it an order as soon as she hit the three-month mark.

Casey tried to suppress her laughter, but earned herself a frustrated glare from the detective. "Sorry, I came to go over your testimony for the Sydnee case." It wasn't exactly a lie, the case was going to court the next week, but it was really just her excuse. Casey knew Olivia was likely going crazy already and wanted to make sure she was following orders with everyone else out and about.

"I've only left my desk to get more tea, grab lunch, and puke, counselor. You didn't need to come check up on me."

"Am I really that transparent?"

"I may be stuck here, but I'm still a detective. It's what I do."

Casey laughed and gave up all pretenses, "So, besides being bored, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. The morning sickness isn't as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have even gotten sick today if someone hadn't burned coffee…the smell of it…"

"Munch, I assume?" His awful coffee was legendary, even in the DA's office.

"Yeah…He is officially banned from making coffee for the duration of my pregnancy!"