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Chapter 18.

Dominick had planned to go straight home after work. But he changed his mind and decided to check on Olivia instead. She was two months pregnant. Sonny was worried that she would overexert herself. And that she may harm herself or the baby.

"How are you? Be honest with me, man," Fin spoke, after Sonny walked right past him. Dominick stopped and turned to face him. Fin usually always minded his business, but he knew that right now he had to be involved. If Dominick wasn't here to take care of Olivia, he had to. No questions asked.

"Well, since you are asking, I assume Olivia told you. Everything that has happened in the last few months was overwhelmed. My whole world was turned upside down. But nobody should worry about me. We need to worry about Liv. I want to help get her life back to normal," Dominick sighed.

"Life will never be completely normal, Carisi. Not with that little alien," Fin grinned, as he leaned back in his chair. Dominick smiled and ran a hand over the back of his neck.

"Okay, so our new normal… She's never been pregnant before, so I'm worried about her well being."

"I get that, Carisi. But when you aren't here, I am. I'll take care of her. I already told her to stay here. She can investigate with her ass in a chair," Fin replied, still smiling. Dominick chuckled softly.

"I imagine she took that well, huh?"

"She's already complaining and it's only been a few days. Olivia hates paperwork, so there has been some pouting," Fin laughed. Dominick joined him, before clapping him on the shoulder.

"I'll deal with that… Fin, I know you already told me you'd look after her, but this is not a normal pregnancy. It's high risk because of her age. Please make sure she eats lots and takes naps if she needs to. Okay? We can't have her lose more weight," Dominick panted as he glanced towards Olivia's office.

"Yes, I noticed. When Olivia and I talked, I thought she was going to tell me she was terminally ill. Not super sick because she's pregnant..." Fin trailed off.

"As far as I know, she only is experiencing morning sickness. And because of that, I am going to grab her and take her home. She has an appointment tomorrow morning, and I pray everything is fine. I want her and our baby to come out of this pregnancy healthy."

Dominick walked into Olivia's office and found her resting her head against her arms. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or trying to relax.

"Liv?" He cooed softly, as he walked to her desk. Olivia lifted her head slowly and gave Dominick a lopsided smile.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Are you doing alright?" He mused, and Olivia nodded.

"Yeah, I just had a rough day. What are you doing here?"

Dominick reached out and smoothed her hair before giving her a soft smile.

"I'm going to take you home. I know it's early. But you need to get something in your belly and some sleep."

xxx

Elliot and Amanda had been at the bar for a while, and Elliot noticed the distress that was written all over her face. He placed his hand on her glass, implying that enough was enough.

„I know this must be difficult for you," Elliot said, trying to console Amanda. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "It's not just me. You are too," she said as the full weight of her best friend's pregnancy returned.

It was hard to accept the fact that her own boyfriend was fathering another baby. It felt like a knife had been plunged into her heart.

„How did you learn about?"

Elliot let out a frustrated sigh as the video came back to him. He could see when Olivia and Dominick slept together. He felt like he was in hell. The last thing he wanted to do was witness Olivia having sex with a man that wasn't him every time he closed his eyes.

Amanda forced herself to ask, "How are you holding up?" already expecting the answer to be a river of despair and grief. Her voice wavered as she watched the color drain from his face. She knew that words could not contain the anguish he felt.

Elliot swore under his breath. "This video is torture, the moaning and the thrusting..." His voice trailed off. She asked in a soft tone. Amanda's face twisted in disbelief and horror as she registered his words, "You have seen the video?" There was a long silence as she took a long breath.

Elliot closed his eyes and shook his head hard. His face twisted in disgust. "I can't even bear to think about it." he murmured through clenched teeth. "After Dani brought up the details of the video, we were assigned to watch it. Our squad had been assigned to solve the case. I knew it would haunt us, forever. We had no choice but to sit through it, and since then, things between Liv and me have changed... irreparably..."

"You know, they did not tell me the truce. I know Liv was drugged. It was never mentioned that Sonny was the other one."

„Rollins, don't you still understand that they were hurt and that Liv and Carisi were trying to protect you?."

„Stabler, I am frankly surprised at your reaction. I thought you would throw a tantrum."

„It may look peaceful on the outside, but I can assure you that I am anything but serene."

Elliot was far from calm, but he was fighting to remain impassive. He must have gathered an enormous amount of inner strength. To keep himself from showing the world how desperate he was inside. Instead, he stood still, masking his pain with a facade of bravery.

„You must understand it. I'm mad at Dani, but I don't want to take that anger out on Liv and Carisi. They're trying to make the best of a bad situation and Liv has always been eager to have a baby."

Amanda remained silent, keeping her private thoughts to herself. As sure as she was that Liv would be a great parent for the new baby, the truth still stung.

„Rollins, there's no way we can pile more onto their plate. They already have so much to bear, not to mention the up coming trial. I will have to talk to her too." Not wanting to pressure Olivia, he grappled with conflicting emotions of fear and anticipation.

„That's why I decided to take a trip to Atlanta with my kids. Clearing my head and come back feeling refreshed, so I can start working again."

„That sounds like a good plan."

Elliot and Amanda sat in the bar, debating about having one last drink. Part of them was aware that this wasn't the best idea, but their craving for the sweet liquid made it hard to resist.