Olivia was busy changing Leo when her phone rang. "Who could that be? Maybe Nick, well whoever it is they're just gonna have to wait because right now I'm all yours." She kissed Leo's tummy and he cooed grabbing for her face then her hair that dangled so close to his flailing hands. After he was changed she went to see who had called. Shifting Leo to her left hip she picked up her phone and saw that it was Alex who called.

"Hey Liv I want to take you to a post birthday lunch."

"Well how about ordering something here and we'll catch up, what time are you coming over?"

"Uh well I was thinking more of like taking you out."

"Alex I have a baby in my care in case you didn't know and I just can't leave him at home while I go out to lunch."

"Can't you get a sitter?"

"Oh sure let me just open the phone book and pick any number of them out…come on Alex." Olivia's disappointment at her friend's lack of knowledge to having a kid and responsibilities was outspoken in her conscience.

"Sorry, ok I have an idea bring him with you; I haven't seen Leo yet either."

"Alex I don't know."

"It'll be great, tomorrow, 12:30 Columbus Circle? Then we can decide whatever we feel like eating."

"Alright I'll see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

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"Cap'n we got a problem." Fin said leaning on the doorknob to his office and the other hand on the door frame.

"And that would be?"

"Our perp will only speak to Liv. Says he knows her from a case she arrested him for 10 years ago."

"Great it's come to this now, humps picking the detective they want interrogating them." Don Cragen rose following Fin to the room.

"Mr. Yates, Detective Benson is on leave so she's temporarily unavailable. Detective Tutuola and Detective Rollins are more than qualified to handle your interview."

"I'm not talking to two yutzes, I want Detective Benson or give me my lawyer." Captain Cragen had just about lost his patience with his hump. He fingered his two detectives to come outside the room.

"Give us a moment Mr. Yates and we'll do our best to get Detective Benson on video to conduct your interview." The grease ball leaned back in his chair with a half bitten toothpick hanging from his mouth grinning at the three as they disgustingly exited the room from the foul odor coming from their alleged suspect.

Olivia glanced at the number calling her, it was her captain."

"Captain what's up?" Her first thought was that Nick had been injured; it was always her first thought now that she wasn't in the field working cases with him.

"Liv I'm sorry to bother while you're on leave but do you remember a Mr. Tom Yates from a case back in 2003?" Olivia thought, Tom Yates, Tom Yates, she said in her head. Finally she connected the name with the crime at that time.

"Yes why?"

"He's in our squad room requesting that only you question him. Is there any chance you're available to Skype with him from home?"

"If you give me about an hour and email me the details then yes." This is just what she needed, to still feel like she hasn't lost her edge being missing from action these past few months. She remembered this vicious rapist; he claimed his innocence but only got out of prison on a technicality during his appeals process.

"Great will stall him until then…and Liv…thanks."

"No problem."

"You're in luck Mr. Yates it turns out Detective Benson is available to interview you, will be ready in about an hour." The hump gave Captain Cragen a smile as fake as a 3 dollar bill.

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"Detective Benson how are you these days? You're just as beautiful as you were 10 years ago and by the looks of you you've been well. I just wish I was the lucky bastard who knocked you up." He could see as plain as day as Olivia took her position in front of the camera's eye she was very pregnant. She was almost 8 months now.

"Shut up! Let's begin as to why you raped Monica Divorchiack, Pricilla Davis and Amy Yuhasse."

"I didn't rape any of those sluts, that bitch last night; she was drunk she hit on me."

"Oh please spare me. What happened Tom? You got soft so out of frustration you get rough and forced yourself on her? Only except she fought back, so please, you got off on a minor tech 10 years ago, we all knew you raped Monica and you killed Pricilla, even your wife was suspicious of your actions and the spouses always know first."

"Shut your filthy mouth you bitch! You planted that evidence against me 10 years ago; it's taken me almost all of those to earn my wife's trust back, she believes me now. You had in for me O-liv-ia just like you do now. What? Is it every man that's accused of rape is on your short list because of your personal connection with your mother?" It only been two months now since she had interrogated a suspect and could feel her blood already boiling with this piece of shit.

"I'm sorry did I strike a nerve? You work in a forensic lab, you know how to cover up trace evidence but you know what I'm glad you wore a condom last night because the thought of you impregnating that poor girl and your rapist genes running around this Earth sickens me!"

"Rapist genes? Have you looked in the mirror lately Olivia.? My kids will have iq's of 180 or better." Yates sneered at her.

"God help us that you don't sire any children." Olivia was already pissed and starting to feel exhausted after almost completing one hour of interrogation. Her co-workers watched from Cragen's office silently cheering her on. She was the best of the best getting inside perps heads. Finally after giving Mr. Yates a bathroom break they went back at it for almost 2 more hours. She excused herself to answer her phone.

"He's almost there Liv, cast your line this one's a big sucker." Nick said on the other line.

"That was the lab they're running a sample of saliva found in your car and hair fibers, apparently you left your calling card Tom so this time the charge will stick too bad huh?" That was one of the oldest plays in the book to use on suspects but Olivia was running out of patience and time with him.

"We we're never in my car so you're lying again!"

"Pricilla wasn't but Amy was so I got you dirt bag."

"Amy doesn't have any hair she's going through chemo so you didn't find any hair. Stop manufacturing evidence detective."

"So she was in your car after all, just without hair." Checkmate. Fin high fived his partner then high fived Nick after watching how smooth Olivia was in getting Tom to slip up. The look on his face was priceless and apparently Mr. Yates wasn't finished with is ranting to Olivia

"That whore was going to tell my wife and do you know I'm sitting on a multi-million dollar cloning deal with investors. I wasn't going to let her ruin it so I cut her a piece of the pie but I wasn't going home without a little thank you first." Fin and Amanda left Don Cragen's office to slap the cuffs on him and a one way ticket to Rikers.

"Nice work Olivia." Don said before ending the session. She smiled back at him before closing down her iPad. Later that night as they lay in bed Nick praised her.

"You know Liv after you retire you should teach."

"Teach?"

"Yeah these rookies coming up the ranks who want to upgrade from a beat, they could use a good interview techniques class run by an experienced person, such as yourself." She rubbed a patch of his chest hair between her fingers.

"I don't know maybe, that's 5 years down the pike before I can retire." She lifted her head up prompting him to meet her lips.

"Goodnight, love you."

"Night love you too."

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Alex had already been seated drinking a glass of white wine when Olivia entered the restaurant with Leo.

"I don't know what happened, I was right across the street, I was early too, then I saw this incredibly cute outfit."

"It's fine, Liv sit sit." Alex motioned with her hand for Olivia to take a seat. "Man I'm so tired I've been in the office until 11 all this week, look at the bags underneath my eyes. Training all these newbies is wearing me out." Olivia took her son out of his stroller and sat down patting Alex on her hand smiling at her friend.

"How's your stomach been?" Olivia asked. Leo started to cry and squirm in her arms as she tried to remove his coat.

"Terrible! Just terrible, it's stress, total stress I tell ya."

"Is he ok?" Alex asked looking very concerned at the baby's red face and mouth wide open displaying his uvula that vibrated with every wail. The tther patrons began to turn their heads at the noise.

"I think he's coming down with a cold. I probably gave it to him." Actually it was Nick who was running a cold and still is that's being passed around the house but I can't say that to you Alex without revealing my relationship with him. Olivia said to herself.

"He's so cute Liv." Olivia was trying to make Leo comfortable by holding him tight to her chest patting his back talking softly to him then trying to switch positions against her body but nothing was working. She tried giving him a bottle but he pushed it away.

"Thanks." The restaurant patrons were really gawking at Olivia, Alex and the baby now who was crying uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry Alex I'm going to have to take him home, something's wrong with him, I'll call the pediatrician."

"You don't think he'll stop?"

"Alex!"

"I mean it's nobody's business as to why he's crying!" Alex said turning around looking at the customers.

"It's not them, something's bothering him, I just can't ignore it." Olivia added.

"Oh, oh I'm sorry yeah sure you should go. Maybe we could do this again next week and you could get a sitter?" Olivia looked sad at her friend as she put a coat on Leo and put him in his stroller.

"Sorry I was looking forward to having lunch with you and catching up."

"It's fine go, go go go. Wait Liv, here for you." She handed a card to Olivia.

"Thanks I'll call you." The other luncher's looked relieved Olivia was leaving.

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Nick and Olivia had started their Lamaze and parenting classes a month before she was due. He informed her during a break in the class that he was going to Delaware tomorrow for an undercover assignment and she was nervous that there was a possibility she could go into early labor.

"I don't like it any more than you do being so close to your delivery date but what am I supposed to do Liv tell Cragen I can't because I have to be ready in case our baby comes early?"

"Why did you tell me this?"

"And if I didn't you'd chew me a new one for not telling you."

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Nick and Munch teamed up with the Delaware State Police to take down a serial rapist who recently was paroled and had raped again. Their suspect had fled from New York to Wilmington, DE. They believed he had an 8 year old girl with him. Nick took out his shirt and tie from his suitcase and hung it up over the closet door.

"Hey Nick I'm going to go across the street and get a bite to eat you want to go?"

"No that's ok I'm just gonna crash early."

"You ok?"

"Yeah just tired." Nick actually lied, what he really wanted was some privacy to call Olivia and hear her voice. Texting her just wasn't the same. Sergeant Munch had been his twin shadow all day since arriving on their assignment so this was a great opportunity for them to be separated.

"I don't mean to pry Nick but how is Maria doing? I don't get much of a chance to talk to you lately."

"She's been battling the flu or some bug she caught but other than that she's fine."

"And the divorce?"

"Actually we're going to move ahead with it now; I put a hold on it when she discov-well you know all this already man…so it'll be official soon." Nick tossed his stress relief ball in the air catching it then repeating. He seemed melancholy and Munch saw this.

"I'm sorry man. I'll bring you back something in case you get hungry later ok bud."

"Sure thanks." He called Olivia and everything was fine. He told her he hoped to wrap up the case by Friday and be home. Their case took 5 days to close. In the span of the 5 days undercover Nick managed to have his phone taken by the perp when he became suspicious of their behavior. Nick was able to retrieve it but it was beyond repairable, at least when he got back to NY he could get TARU to salvage his contacts and memory card. Maria was not feeling well to travel with Zara so Nick went to D.C. the day after he and Munch returned. He picked up Gil and they hoped the train.

"Mommy's sick again, her cancer grew back but the cancer doctor will make her all better like he did last time." She told him after he picked her up. All the color in Nick's face drained away. His daughter wasn't much information as to how sick Maria was and what the plan was for her. By Sunday afternoon when it was time to drop her off, Maria's parents were there. It had been a long while since Nick had seen them and the tension was just as thick as it was before. By the looks on their faces he knew it wasn't good. Maria was up to receive Zara, she had lost a lot weight again and her eyes looked sunken in. Zara's grandmother began to fix her something to eat in the kitchen while Maria's father took his newspaper and headed into the study.

"Maria this is Gil, Gil this is Maria."

"Nice to meet you mam."

"It's nice to meet you too. Nick's talked a lot about you." She noticed right off the bat how much he looked like his father

"Gil can you give us a moment, here's the keys to the rental why don't you go listen to the radio and I'll be right out ok."

"Sure." Nick flipped him the keys. Maria took a seat on the couch opposite Nick in the chair. His face was rather long as he looked at her; the couch seemed to consume her.

"So you're going to do another round of chemo right?" Her silence was almost equitable to a death sentence.

"No Nick…it's spread, there's nothing they can do now." She wiped under her eyes where her tears just seem to pool in the pockets of sunken in skin.

"What do you mean there's nothing they can do, they're doctors for God's sake! They've been known to perform miracles. Does Zara know?" He swallowed his words as is eyes became wet. Maria looked at him, her tears, one after the other, looked down expelling her breath then let her eyes roll back into her head as she stood. The emotion was so raw in her voice.

"That her mother's dying? No she doesn't." Nick rose coming to her. He put his arms around her pulling her to him. His chin rested on top of her head, his tears trickling down his cheeks and onto her hair. He spoke low, his words straining from his throat.

"How long did they say?" Maria sobbed against his chest and when she erected herself and looked him in the eye, what she told him next literally collapsed him.

"Three months or less. Nick I don't want you to wait too long to remarry after I'm gone, please overnight the documents this week."

"Maria how can you talk about that now!" No, I…I just can't…not now." His head fell into his hands as he sucked in his breath.

"Nick please…Olivia is pregnant with your child isn't she?" His face suddenly was ashen as his jaw hit the floor.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Our daughter is 7 Nick and 7 year olds talk. That was her wasn't it, that day in the park with you and Zara last year?"

"You were there?"

"I went into the city to have lunch with a friend; you didn't expect me to stay cooped up in the hotel all weekend did you? And I did live in NY and we still have friends there."

"Maria, Olivia was alone on Thanksgiving and she's my partner so I thought it would be nice to invite her since she doesn't have any fam-" Maria put her fingers to his lips.

"Shhh, Nick…you don't need to explain it away, I know what it's like to have someone you can talk to, confide in and trust. You will be happy with her, she's beauti-"

"Maria please."

"She'll make you happy and you deserve to be happy and she's very protective of you as all good partners do for one another." Maria looked at his adams apple practically descend into his throat. He was literally shocked at what just came out of her mouth. She touched his cheek in the way she used to at a time when they were happy in their marriage.

"It's alright Nick, really it's alright. You should go your son is waiting." He stood up slow looking at her then looking around the room. He was afraid to blink otherwise more tears would spill out.

"Zara daddy's leaving now come say good bye." Nick quickly changed his demeanor and put on a smile when he saw her come from the other room.

"Daddy are you crying?"

"I was piquita."

"Why."

"I always get sad when I have to say good bye to you but I'll see you soon ok."

"Ok and Gil too?"

"And Gil too."

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That evening back in NY Olivia held Nick close after he told her what Maria knew and what she wished for. The next morning when Nick arrived Captain Cragen called him into his office. When Nick entered Don was closing the blinds and then closed the door behind him. This made Nick nervous but he would wait it out and see what it was.

"TARU dropped this off but you weren't here yet." Don Cragen gave him a piece of paper with the information Nick wanted from his smashed phone.

"Thanks Captain." Nick started to walk out when he froze in his tracks.

"I should rip you both!" Nick turned back around looking his captain square in the eye.

"Let me explain."

"There's nothing you can say that will make me any less furious with the both of you right now. Do you realize the position you have put me in?" He stood behind his large desk, hands firmly tucked in his trousers.

"Yes and that's why we were going to disclose after Olivia had the baby and I was going to put in a transfer to homicide." Don took his hands out of his pockets and charged to the front of his desk inches from Nick's face.

"And you think it works just like that? You're naïve as they come!" Nick stood there speechless, his thumbs resting in his pockets.

"I should turn you in to 1pp but I'm not because you know why Nick? He didn't get a chance to answer his captain. "Because they've screwed me over one to many times for me to even care anymore! You're too good a detective or me to sign your transfer papers so I'm not going to. I've got 1 more year here and then I'm turning in my papers and heading to my cabin in the woods where I can fish and hunt every day and not care about this place one extra minute."

"I'm sorry Captain." His captain softened his tone a bit with his detective.

"Yeah I know you are but you know what real pisser is about this?"

"No, what?"

"For years I thought there was something going on between Olivia and her former partner but I was dead wrong, never once would I have thought it would have been you."

"We didn't plan it, it was something that just fell into place sir."

"Things are going to change when Olivia gets back from maternity leave, you and Munch will partner up more and other times when our not with your current partner, you'll fly solo and you screw up just one time I'll make sure you gain employment as a mall security officer. You got me Nick?"

"Loud and clear sir, loud and clear."

"That's all." He was about to leave. Captain Cragen watched Nick turn back around.

"Just one thing Captain."

"It doesn't matter how I know Nick and you won't begrudge anyone from TARU are we clear?" He nodded as he turned and left. Fin, Amanda and Munch all saw him walk out wondering.

"Alright what's up for today?" Nick said sitting down.

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"Nick!" He sprung up from his side.

"What what is it?" Looking at her side of the bed then looking around the room noticing the alarm clock at 3:17 a.m. then seeing the light pool across the room from the bathroom, he hurried to her. He stood there rubbing his eyes yawning. Olivia had just made it to the bathroom when her water broke.

"It's time." She said startled and happy standing over the toilet with the bottom of her night gown wet; her breathing had started to become a little laborious now. There was a small puddle of water at the base of her feet.

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She had been in labor for almost 6 hours now, her contractions getting closer and closer. Her ob-gyn came into the room to take another look.

"We're at 7 centimeters now." The baby was pushing down on her pelvic bones for the past 6 hours and it was getting increasingly uncomfortable for her. The anesthesiologist came in to give her an epidural shot. She hated Nick right about now :-D

"You're doing great honey she's going to be here soon. I love you." Nick told her gripping her hand and reaching up to plant a kiss on her forehead then he wiped her face with a cool cloth. This was agony for Olivia as another contraction came. At the tenth hour she was just about 10 cm dilated so they had her scoot down to the edge of the bed and her feet went into the stirrups and she and Nick prepared for the arrival of their baby girl.

"Ok breathe, breathe, breathe that's it Liv bear down, good now breathe, breathe, oh good, yeah Liv you're doing great." She moaned loudly as the pain increased.

"I am!" she said at Nick through gritted teeth and hissy breath.

"I see her head sweetie!" Nick said smiling big.

"You do really you do? Olivia said excited. "I can't hold it any longer it hurts… ow!"

"One more good push oughta do it Olivia." Her ob-gyn directed her. "Ok big breath this time, really bear down. Little bit more Olivia little bit more. Bear down, and big breath, bear down ok good…and here she is." Her ob-gyn stood up smiling handing the baby to the nurse who wiped her off then handed her to Nick.

"Oh good Liv, so good." Nick said looking at his daughter cradling her with a huge smile then looking at Olivia.

"Hi Roxanne, hiii, I'm your dad!" He said bringing her to her mommy's chest.

"She's ok?" Olivia asked through tears, pressing her lips to her daughter's head and her cheeks then turning to kiss Nick and bury her head into his neck sobbing happily.

"She's perfect, just like her mom." His head rested against hers as they marveled in the joy of their newborn daughter.

"Happy birthday Roxanne, I love you sweet baby girl." Olivia said.

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*A/n* So next chapter is the end I just want thank you all for your wonderful reviews, and pm's to clear up any confusion some had. THANK YOU I love you all xoxo! I want to give a big shout out to my cousin Sanoah who helped me so much with writing the character of Olivia. She is 46 and just had a baby 5 years ago so I leaned on her for help with how to write accurately for a middle aged woman and all that entails with a first pregnancy.