A/N: Hey, I'm not gonna talk too much here but sorry for the delay, was working through a bit of writer's block among other things. Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint.

8 weeks later…

It was a warmish day in March and Detective Olivia Moss was at her desk, thumbing through some of her cold cases to see if she could connect any of them to their newest perp. She kept glancing toward the interrogation room longingly, where the aforementioned perp was being viciously grilled by Elliot and Fin. She wanted a crack at him so bad it hurt, but she couldn't. In her 8th month of pregnancy she could barely even do paperwork anymore because it was getting increasingly harder to sustain the energy. Her boss, her partner and her husband were practically begging her to stay home, and she'd tried it for a while, but staying home by herself with nothing to do drove her completely insane.

Elliot came out of the interrogation room looking pleased with himself. Olivia looked up as she saw him walking toward her. "Did you hurt him?" Elliot put on an innocent face. "What? No, I simply and calmly explained to him the major health risks of lying to us. He understood." Olivia smirked. "Yeah, right"

He sat down at his desk and stared at her for a minute. She went back to her files and pretended not to notice. "Are we okay now Liv?" he asked this cautiously not wanting to start anything. She'd been very moody with him the last couple months joking with him one day and giving him the silent treatment the next.

Olivia looked up at him and saw the desperation on his face. "Elliot, I just don't like knowing that you had this whole secret life that you didn't think to tell me about. I thought we were closer than that, I thought I meant more to you than that." She tried to refocus on her file but she could feel his eyes boring into her.

"You are important to me Liv, to us. You're like a sister to both of us and nothing will ever change that." He said softly.

Olivia shut her file and slapped it down on her desk. "See! See, that's it right there, all this "us" and "our", what is that Elliot! I thought we were an us." Elliot cocked an eyebrow. "You know what I mean!" she huffed, "We were a team, we're partners, we told each other everything. You keeping something this important from me…it hurts Elliot, it really hurts." She then arduously got up from her chair and made her way to the restrooms.

Elliot sighed and put his forehead on one hand. She's never gonna forgive me for this.

When she came back he noticed how tired she looked. "Hey, I told Alex I'd take her to lunch today, you want to come with?" he asked hopefully, "I could take you home afterwards." Olivia considered for a moment and then nodded. "Ok, but only because I haven't seen Alex in a while and I really need a nap." Elliot smiled and got up to follow her as she walked straight towards the exit.

Meanwhile…

Chester walked into his house feeling very, very nervous. His currently quint-carrying wife was due for her 20 week checkup today, which according to their doctor was of the utmost importance.

As he made his way upstairs the sound of the shower running perplexed him. He'd called her an hour ago and she'd told him she was just getting into the shower. He walked through the bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door. It wasn't until he called her name that he heard the shower turn off. She came out a few minutes later shivering and wrapped tightly in the biggest towel they owned.

At a mere 5 months of pregnancy, Casey closely resembled a woman at about 8 months. Her hugely round form wearing a large burgundy towel like a mini dress would have been adorable had she not been ghostly pale and crying.

Chester who had been waiting for her impatiently on their bed went from perplexed to positively alarmed. "Casey? Wha- what's the matter baby?" She sniffled and walked to him with her arms wrapped around herself. "I don't want to go." Chester's brow furrowed. "Come here, babe." She lowered herself onto his lap and he hugged her for a minute before speaking. "Ok, now calm down and tell me why you don't want to go."

She cuddled into his chest, her small slightly wrinkled hands gripped his upper arm; they felt like ice. "I don't want him to touch me," she mumbled. "Who, Dr. Berggren?" Chester asked. She nodded. "Babe, he's just going to make sure you're okay and check on the babies to see how they're doing in there. Nothing to be worried about."

Chester absently rubbed her belly with one hand, she shivered and Chester just noticed how cold her body was. "Can't we just...get a different doctor?" she said into his chest. Chester sighed and leaned her up to look at him. "Honey, we talked about this already, remember? I know it's a little awkward sometimes because he's a guy, but he's the best. That's why we picked him. He really knows his stuff and he's taking great care of you and the babies. He's also really nice, and I thought you liked him."

"I do, it's not-it's not him I-I just-" She bit her lip and looked at him with wet eyes, wanting so badly to explain.

"What is it?" He pressed. She couldn't do it. "Nothing, let's just go." She let him help her get dressed and they got in the car. She didn't talk to him the whole ride to the hospital. Chester tried not to stress about it and soon concluded that she was over-reacting.

Olivia sat in the passenger seat of Elliot's car feeling a little nervous. Truth be told she had been avoiding her best friend Alex for the past 8 weeks. She hadn't made it obvious but she was sure Alex had noticed and she was starting to feel bad about it. When they pulled up to Elliot's building Alex was waiting for them on the front steps

Elliot parked the car and got out. Olivia looked out the car window to see Alex wearing a baby blue cap-sleeve top, maternity jeans and a light tan cape jacket. Even pregnant with twins she looks perfect. Elliot walked right up to her and kissed her on the mouth before giving her an arm to help her down the front steps. When she saw Olivia in the car she suddenly blushed and looked at Elliot who gave her a reassuring squeeze. Alex opened the back car door with a smile.

"Hi Olivia, um long time no see". She said cheerily. "Hi Alex" Olivia replied sounding less than enthused. Alex settled into the back seat looking dejected and didn't say another word. An awkward silence ensued. "So, "Elliot said loudly, "Did Eli do ok when you dropped him off at preschool this morning?" He looked on his rearview mirror at Alex who simply nodded. "Ok, nobody talk then. That's fine with me." The rest of the drive to his and Alex's favorite French bistro was a silent one. Elliot quickly found a place to park and helped the two pregnant ladies out of the car.

When they sat down at their table, Olivia quietly observed Elliot and Alex as they tried to decide what they wanted. She started to feel bad again as she watched them laugh and reminisce about the last time they had been there.

"So Alex" Olivia said interrupting them, "I think I should apologize-" The couple looked at Olivia with matching confused faces.

"No, Olivia you didn't do anything-" Alex protested.

Olivia put a hand up to stop her. "Just let me say this. I think I may have... over-reacted a little. I mean, after Elliot told me everything I was... a little overwhelmed and maybe I stayed angry longer than I should have." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in.

Alex donned a glassy eyed expression. "I don't blame you for being angry at us," she said, "I hated lying to you, I really did. But Elliot, Elliot didn't think you would understand and... and I ...I didn't want you to hate me." Her emotions got the best of her at this point and Olivia scooted closer to her around the table and patted her arm. "Hun, why did you think I would hate you? I could never hate you, we're best friends!" Alex sniffed loudly and pulled a tissue out of her purse. "I kn-know but I thought you would...think I was a horrible slut for falling for a married man, a-and then it just became easier not say anything but the more serious it got the worse I felt and..." She trailed off unable to talk anymore.

Elliot sat back and watched in astonishment as the two women hugged it out. By the time they broke apart they were both laughing at something Elliot hadn't caught. Olivia suddenly shot a glare at Elliot. "That doesn't mean I forgive you though." she snapped. She then looked at Alex and they both started laughing again. Elliot huffily went back to thumbing through the menu.

An hour and a half later...

Alex eased herself out of the back seat and came around to the driver side to kiss her fiancée then stood back and waved as he drove off with his partner. She walked into the building and headed straight for the elevator, thinking how badly she needed a nap. When she got off on the floor of her new home a feeling of uneasiness washed over her. A conversation she'd had with her friend Jenna flashed through her head.

"Hey are you going to tell him about—" "No." "Alex—" "Look, he doesn't need to know about that, he'll just get himself worked up. I'll be gone tonight and it'll all be over with. I'll be safe with him."

She tried to shake it off, thinking she was being paranoid. When she put her key in the door, she realized it was already unlocked. I could've sworn I locked up when I left. She pushed the door open and took two cautious steps in and the sight before her made her jaw drop.

The apartment was completely ransacked. There was stuff everywhere. The bedroom door was hanging off the hinges and she could see it was a mess in there too. She shook her head and retreated back out into the hallway. "No, no, no, no, no, this cannot be happening." The next thing she knew there was a gloved hand over her mouth. She screamed but she knew no one would hear the muffled noise. The person attached to the hand spun her around to face him, he was wearing a black ski mask but his eyes were filled with malice. He shoved her and her back hit the wall hard. He had his hands around her neck before she could scream again. He leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear, "You made me angry."

The minute Alex heard that voice her blood ran cold and she started to shake. She knew that voice; that voice had been tormenting her for months. He let go of her neck with one hand and she was able to breathe again. "You made me look for you, I didn't like that." A knot of fear was building in her chest, her mind was racing. Her arms which had been balled into fists by her sides, wrapped themselves around her belly. She wanted to fight him; to punch or kick something but something inside her told her that would only make it worse.

"I'm sorry" she squeaked. He stuck his free hand into her hair and grasped a chunk of it painfully. "I don't believe you." His voice came out like gravel. She blinked rapidly as tears clouded her vision. "I-I'm sorry, really. Please don't hurt me." He smiled and then gripped her neck a little tighter before yanking the lock of hair he was holding right out of her head. Her second scream was strangled instantly with a sharp squeeze. He kept his tight grip on her neck as he leaned in even closer and whispered, "I'm gonna kill you." She started to sob. This seemed to amuse him.

Suddenly Alex heard what sounded like a door open and close down the hall. The man was playing with her hair and didn't seem to notice Then a voice yelled and she heard heavy footsteps coming toward them. The man's head jerked toward the sound and Alex shut her eyes, afraid of what he would do next. The voice yelled again, louder this time. "Hey! Let her go!"

Alex's attacker suddenly released her and took off toward the exit. Alex's eyes popped open as she felt the pressure relieve from her neck and she started to cough. When she saw the masked man running away she slid to the ground and curled into a ball still sobbing. The footsteps slowed and then stopped right in front of her. A man squatted down to her level and gently touched her shoulder. She looked up with terrified eyes to see her new neighbor, Ted Keillor. He was a friend of Elliot's and Alex had met him a couple of weeks ago. His face was filled with concern. "Hey, are you all right?" She swallowed hard and simply nodded.

He gave her a kind smile. "It's okay, you're safe now. I think he's gone." Alex shot her eyes down the hall and breathed a little calmer seeing that her assailant had indeed disappeared. She looked back at her neighbor and managed to squeak out a "thank you". He smiled again. "I'm just glad I came out here when I did. Now how about we go to my place and I'll call Elliot for you?" She nodded again and allowed him to help her up.

She started crying again as they went past the open door to her thrashed apartment. Ted took one look inside and pulled her a little closer to himself, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. When they got to his place three doors down he settled her on his sofa and got her a glass of water before picking up the phone and dialing Elliot's cell.

DunDunDun… Hmm who is this crazy dude, and what does he want with our little Alex? You'll have to keep reading to find out! Up next: Elliot flips out and Casey has dinner with her parents…and a couple of surprise guests. And don't worry I shouldn't take TOO long to update this time! P.S. As you've probably noticed I'm terrible at transitions, time lapses that sort of thing, if anyone has a tip, I would love one! xoxo