Hey guys, so I know you all are probably pissed at me but you would not believe the month I've had. Let's just say it involved a car crash, a mysterious illness and more family drama than a soap opera. Plus this chapter was a pain in the butt, it has a lot of dialogue... any way enjoy, it's extra long just for you!

Chapter 7

Elliot, Alex, and Eli were having a very quiet breakfast. Elliot had both his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. Alex was staring at him forlornly. Eli was for the moment thoroughly distracted by the sticky bun he was now munching as he sat between the two adults.

"Elliot?" Alex said breaking the silence, "Talk to me." What are you feeling? What is going through your head? Is there anything I can do besides sit here and stare at you?

"How could she do this?" he murmured. He hadn't moved an inch and seemed to be talking directly to the table. "How could her own flesh and blood make her so miserable she could just walk away from him and never look back? What kind of person does that?"

"I don't know El," Alex replied softly. She looked at Eli who was completely oblivious to their conversation. I have no effing idea how a person could abandon a little boy as precious as this.

"I-I just don't understand. She gave birth to him. Doesn't that mean anything to her? Doesn't that make her feel anything?" Elliot thought out loud, desperately trying to make sense of things.

"Apparently not. Maybe she was being honest Elliot, maybe she just burnt out. Or maybe she's just selfish. Either way, your son is better off here than with a mother who resents him," Alex said resolutely.

Elliot pressed his palms to his eyeballs and rubbed them vigorously. He exhaled loudly. Alex had a hunch. She leaned down and whispered something to Eli, who was licking icing off of his fingers. He smiled, gave her a big hug and then raced off in the direction of the master bedroom.

As soon as he was out of sight, Alex walked straight over to him and picked his head up to make him look at her. His eyes were red rimmed. She pulled his arms off the table and slid onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and he let his head rest on her shoulder. She gently caressed the back of his neck.

"It's going to be ok El," she consoled, "I know it hurts now but it'll get better. And you and me and Eli a-and our two little babies, we're going to be great together, we're going to be happy just like you said, remember?"

He suddenly hugged her to him fiercely and touched her tummy briefly before leaning back to look in her eyes again. He was filled with determination. "Your right," he said, "he doesn't need someone like that in his life anyway. Screw her. If she's even a fraction as happy with the asshole she's with as were are going to be—"

"Then she doesn't deserve it," Alex finished, smiling.

Elliot finally smiled back. They cuddled for another couple of minutes until they heard a little voice shout 'A rescaté!' from the bedroom. They both cracked up laughing. "Diego?" Alex guessed. Elliot nodded. "Definitely Diego."

Saturday night 5:30pm…

The Lake's two-story townhouse in Brooklyn had never looked better. Chester had spent the last three hours sweeping and dusting everything in sight. Casey was nervously washing every dish they owned.

Chester threw the broom into the hall closet rather forcefully and collapsed on the freshly vacuumed sofa. "Babe, come over here and sit down," he called to her, "you need to relax." Casey came around the corner, wiping her hands with a dish towel. "And you need to change" she commented.

Chester looked down at his wrinkled t-shirt and jeans. "Something wrong with my ensem?" he half-joked. She gave him a look; he laboriously got up from the sofa and headed upstairs. Just then the doorbell rang. Casey looked at her watch; her parents weren't due for another hour.

She opened the door to find Olivia standing there with a Tupperware filled with cookies and a smile. Casey was pleasantly surprised. "Hey Liv, what're you…doing here?" she asked, awkwardly. Liv shrugged. "I just thought I'd pop over and see how you were doing. Can I come in?"

"Sure," she said backing up. Liv walked in and immediately noticed the cleanliness of the Lake's home and was thoroughly impressed. "Your house looks so…shiny!" she commented, "I didn't even know you had this many photos!" Casey beamed with pride. After having Chester clean all afternoon, she had taken the liberty of displaying quite a few more framed pictures then they usually did with the sole purpose of helping to convince her parents that she and Chester were incredibly happy.

Olivia daintily sat down on the sofa and tucked her hair behind her ears, her smile never leaving her face. Casey joined her and looked at her shrewdly. "Kurt's home isn't he?" she asked.

"How'd you know?" Olivia replied, giggling.

"You baked." Casey stated, motioning to her box of Snickerdoodles.

"What can I say; he brings out the Martha Stewart in me. I made them for you!" Olivia said, "They're your favorite!"

Casey playfully snatched the cookies from her friend, she peeled open one corner of the Tupperware and inhaled. "Mmm…Snickerdoodles" she murmured, "Thanks, Liv!"

"Don't mention it," Liv replied, "I figured you could use some after the day you had yesterday. So how are you doing, honestly?"

Casey gave her a half smile. "I'm ok, I guess. It's just taken a while for everything to sink in, you know? And I still cannot believe I'm gonna give birth to five babies at the same time, I mean who does that?"

Olivia laughed again. "I don't know, you, obviously. It is kind of crazy though, I mean how does that even happen without, you know, doing the whole IVF thing?" She scooted a little closer to Casey, wholly intrigued.

"Well, apparently, I have this ridiculous gene for pumping out a bunch of eggs at once. Another thing I didn't know until yesterday, thank you mom." Casey said derisively.

"So tell me," Olivia said, "Why does your house look like something out of Good Housekeeping? Who are you guys trying to impress?"

"My parents," Casey answered, "They invited themselves over for dinner tonight."

Olivia picked up the lack of enthusiasm in her friend's voice. "Well don't sound so happy about it." she said.

"I love my parents Liv, but they're not exactly Chester's biggest fans. The last time they were here, my dad threatened him with his shotgun collection!" Casey replied. She rubbed her temples in exasperation. "This is gonna be a disaster", she mumbled.

Olivia felt bad that her friend was so stressed. She had been gifted with the best in-laws in the world, ones that her husband frequently accused of liking her more than him. She wished she could do something to help.

"I'm sure everything's going to be ok," she said optimistically. Casey gave her a disbelieving look. "Ok, maybe it won't be ok…why don't your parents like Chester anyway?" Olivia looked genuinely curious. Casey gave a mirthless chuckle and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I don't know Liv; it may have something to do with the fact that he was arrested for murder."

There was an awkward silence as both women remembered the hell that the man had gone through after the shooting of Officer Kralik.

"He didn't do it though," Liv said gently, "don't your parents know that?" Casey didn't respond, she seemed lost in her own world. Olivia gently squeezed the woman's forearm to bring her back to reality and she flinched. Olivia immediately drew her hand back and her friend blinked a few times before speaking again.

"I told them that, but in their minds "charges dropped" does not mean "innocent". I mean, I think they know me enough to realize that I wouldn't have married a murderer," Casey said sadly. She fidgeted and started to rub her arms. Olivia could tell she didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Hey, why don't I take off and let you…get ready…for everything," Liv said, she kind of wanted to go home to Kurt, she missed him already. Casey didn't say anything, she was zoned out again.

Casey looked up as Liv headed for the door. "Hey, why don't you stay?" she asked, tentatively. Liv turned around looking confused. "Well, if my parents meet somebody new, they'll feel compelled to be nice, ergo no drama," Casey explained, "Please? I could really use a friend right now."

Olivia suddenly felt bad for wanting to leave in the first place. Something was different about Casey, she couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitely different.

"Sure, Case, I'll stay just let me call my husband," she said, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket. Casey smiled delightedly. Maybe this dinner won't be so bad after all.

The creaking of the stairs caused Casey to jump, an event that did not go unnoticed by Olivia. Chester came down grumbling, he was wearing dark wash jeans and a red and gray striped shirt. "So," he said, addressing his wife, "How do I look?"

She got up and walked over the foot of the stairs where he was and gave him a once over. "Baby, you look perfect!" she exclaimed, "I told you that shirt was in there."

"Yeah, well it only took me 5 hours to find it!" he griped. He looked at his watch. "You do know your parents will be here in 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, so?" Casey replied.

"That's what you're wearing?" Chester asked, looking her up and down. She had on a hoodie and leggings.

"Oh, no I was just talking to Liv," Casey said, "She's gonna be our buffer tonight! Crisis averted!" She took off up the stairs and Chester started laughing.

"So Liv, you sure you're up for this?" he asked, hugging the woman. "I think so," she said smiling, "how bad can they be?"

Casey came down 15 minutes later wearing a pastel green sweater-dress to go with her leggings and half her hair up in a matching barrette. Chester and Olivia both looked at her astonished.

"What?" she demanded, "Don't I look ok?" "Yeah but Case, you look so…girly!" Liv replied. "I know, but my mom bought me this for Christmas and it will put her in a good mood to see me wear it," Casey explained.

"Hey listen Liv, I have to tell you something before my parents get here, it's a little bit embarrassing so if you want to laugh, do it now." She flashed a look at Chester, the corners of his mouth were twitching. Liv looked back and forth between them. "What is it?"

"Well—"

Just then the doorbell rang. Everybody froze. Casey took a deep breath and went to answer it. Casey's mother was a couple inches shorter than her but otherwise looked like an older version of her. Her dad was a head taller than both of them with sandy brown hair and intimidating dark green eyes. His robust constitution pretty much filled the door frame. "Damn Evie, you weren't kidding!" Mr. Novak exclaimed after getting an eyeful of Casey and her belly, "Our daughter's having puppies!" He let out a belly laugh, and Casey rolled her eyes before reaching up to hug her dad. "Hi Daddy," she said, smiling.

She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and invited them in. Chester stepped up to say hello and the Novaks stiffened. "Hello Chester," Mr. Novak said extending a hand. "It's nice to see you sir," Chester replied. The handshake was firm, a little too firm for Chester's liking. "It's nice to see you too Evelyn," Chester said addressing Casey's mom. Evelyn simply nodded in Chester's direction before going into the kitchen with the lasagna.

Mr. Novak looked around Chester at Liv who was hanging back shyly. "Who is this pretty thing?" he asked jovially. "Oh," Casey piped up, "Dad, this is Olivia, my friend from work, I told you about her remember?"

"Oh yeah, the female detective, June tells me your one helluva crimefighter, it's good to finally meet ya." Mr. Novak shook her hand warmly and winked. Olivia gave him a big smile. "It's nice to meet you too sir," she replied. He doesn't seem so bad.

"Oh, you can call me Casey dear, any friend o' June's is a friend o' mine."

Olivia's smile widened as a certain realization took over her. She looked at Casey who was on the sofa with her face in her hands. "You two have the same name?" she asked Casey Sr., stating the obvious.

"We sure do! Named my first born after her old dad." he replied enthusiastically, he looked over at his daughter sternly. "Casey Marlow I don't know why you never tell people that." he stated indignantly. "Because, it's weird Dad," Casey groaned. "Hush up, you should be proud to have the name of a legendary marine," Casey Sr. retorted. He turned back to Olivia. "Now we call her June, cause it's short for junior, ya know that way when my wife's hollerin' we don't get confused who she's mad at." He winked, and Liv burst into giggles.

Casey sighed and stalked off toward the kitchen. Evelyn came out before she could get there, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "All right, well I hope everyone's hungry, the lasagna's piping hot and ready to go!"
She then noticed Olivia who was desperately trying to stifle her laughter. "And who might this be, Angel?" Evelyn asked, addressing her daughter. "Mom, this is Olivia, she's one of the detectives I work with and a good friend of mine." Supposedly.

"Oh, wonderful, is she going to be joining us for dinner?" Evelyn asked, sweetly, "She seems like fun."

"Yes! I-I mean if it's ok with you," Casey replied.

"Sure, sure, there's plenty, now let's go before it all gets cold again."

The Novak/Lake family and their giggling houseguest settled themselves around the dining room table. Evelyn Novak brought out a huge steaming pan of the most delicious looking combination of noodles, meat and cheese anyone had ever seen. Casey Novak Sr. blessed the table and they all began to dig in. The dinner started off very nicely, snippets of conversation between heaping mouthfuls and the Novaks actually being civil towards Chester much to the delight of his wife. Casey was beginning to think that this whole thing might actually go well when Evelyn cleared her throat and addressed the group in a loud voice.

"So, Casey, Chester, I think it's time we discussed the house."

Casey and Chester looked at each other. "Whats wrong with our house?" Casey asked nervously.

"Oh nothing dear, it's lovely, in fact I hope you weren't cleaning all day for us," she said, shooting a reproachful look at Chester, "but your father and I were wondering when you were planning on moving?"

Casey knitted her brows together. "Why would we be moving? We love this house."

"Well yes dear, but you're going to have five children. You're going to need more space, don't you think?"

Casey thought for a moment and then looked at Chester who decided to speak up. "Well, we do have 2 extra bedrooms Evelyn, and they'll be pretty tiny when we bring them home, we should be fine for a while." He said calmly. Evelyn blinked rapidly and looked at him as though he'd said something completely ridiculous.

"Well, Chester, they're babies. They're going to need lots of things, like cribs and swings and diapers and clothes! And what do you think is going to happen when they start crawling and walking! They're going to be packed in here like a bunch of sardines!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"Calm down there Evie," Casey Sr. admonished, "there's no reason to get all worked up."

"Well it's not as though I'm speaking Italian I do not know why he doesn't understand what I'm saying!"

"Mom, we get what you're saying," Casey said, "but we just don't feel like we need to move right now, ok? Can we talk about something else?"

Nobody said anything for a few minutes. Evelyn was staring at Casey like she wanted to say something. Casey finally gave in. "What, mom?" she said, dreading the words as she spoke them.

"Well, honey, it's just that the Neilsons just moved to Guam and their house has been empty for a month, it's beautiful, it has 5 bedrooms and a big backyard…"

"And?" Casey questioned testily.

"And…it's only 5 doors down from us!" her mother finished.

There's the catch. "So that's what this is all about," Casey said, "this isn't about our house, you just want us to move closer to you, admit it."

"Well would that be so terrible?" Evelyn confessed, "I mean really, we could see each other much more often, and I could come by to help with the kids anytime you wanted. It would be great! And, your sister would be just around the corner too!"

Casey visibly stiffened and clenched her fist around her fork. "Come again?" she croaked.

Evelyn nodded excitedly. "Sarah and Daniel live 4 streets down from us now, well I guess it's not right around the corner but it's close enough. Haven't you been to see their new place yet?"

Casey was suddenly extremely interested in her plate. "No," she replied curtly.

"Well, they've been there for 3 months! You'll have to go visit soon, the house is gorgeous and Daniel built a little swing-set for Annie in the backyard, such a good daddy that one."

Casey started coughing violently, her eyes watered. Chester gently patted her on the back. "Are you ok, sweetie?" he asked, worriedly. She nodded and took a drink of water. "I'm fine, I just…choked on something." She mumbled.

There was another awkward silence, Liv decided to speak up. "So where do you guys live?" she asked the Novaks.

"Oh, we have this great little piece of heaven over in Williamsburg," answered Casey Sr., "lived there for 35 years." He beamed with pride.

"What about you dear?" Evelyn chimed in, "Do you live close by?" She was suddenly back to her sweet and cordial self.

"My husband Kurt and I have a brownstone on Park Slope," Olivia answered, "not too far from here." She smiled at the impressed looks she got. She stole a glance at Casey who gave her a small smile, grateful the attention was off her for the moment.

"Well, that's lovely, you two must be very proud of it," said Evelyn, "We almost moved there, before we found out we were having the girls. Casey just insisted we raise our kids someplace with lots of grass, so we did."

"Yup and we had the two best softball players in Suffolk county 'cause o'that," Casey Sr. boasted, "June here could hit a ball to China with one hand and Sarah, she had a mean curveball if I remember correctly."

"Sarah threw that mean curveball through a few of our windows if I remember correctly," Evelyn added, "thanks to Lou Gehrig over here." The three of them laughed pleasantly.

"So, I see your expecting dear, when are you due?" inquired Evelyn.

"My baby girl's due in May. Me and Casey hope our kids can play together one day."

"Well your little one sure will have a lot of friends now won't she?" Casey Sr. joked. "Junebug, why you so quiet over there?" He looked at his daughter who was now quickly losing the color in her face.

"Um, I think...I…Oh god—" Casey suddenly leapt up and dashed off toward the downstairs bathroom. Everybody looked at Chester who mumbled something incoherent before going after her.

He found her on her knees throwing up into the toilet. He rubbed her back soothingly as she continued to retch. When she finally stopped he leaned back against the wall breathing shakily. "Chester, I don't feel so good," she groaned. "I can see that baby, what happened?" he said, getting down and sitting by her.

"I don't know, I just suddenly felt really really nauseous. I think I need-" She was throwing up again before she could finish her sentence.

"Just sit tight, I'll be right back," Chester said, getting up. When he got back to the dining room Evelyn and Olivia were chatting away, they both looked up as he walked in.

"Hey guys, Casey's not feeling too good right now, I think we're going to have to cut this short."

The Novaks looked as though they detested the idea of leaving their sick daughter alone with her own husband. Evelyn opened her mouth to say something but "That's ok Chester," she said, "We'll just tidy up a little in here and get out of your hair, you go take care of her."

"Ok, great thanks," Chester said looking at Olivia appreciatively, "It was uh, great seeing you all." It was a mostly a lie, even though it was great having Olivia over, she sure knew how to handle in-laws.

He walked back to the bathroom, his heart aching when he heard her still puking. All he wanted to do was cuddle her into his arms and tuck her into bed and hold her until she felt better.

So there ya go,my humble seventh chapter, Casey's parents, I think they're pretty interesting, what do you think? Also, Kathy sux. REVIEW!

P.S. Feel free to ask me questions, I always wonder if I explain things well enough...