The ambulance ride was tense and emotional to say the least. Nick could feel Olivia's worries and pain radiating from her and his own tension was high as he worried about her and what might happen to Brian. But, the paramedics were quick to get Liv with a doctor and into her own room as soon as they got into the ER, distracting Nick from anything but Liv.

Olivia starred at the white sheets of the hospital bed. The room was so sterile and colorless that it made her uncomfortable. She was wringing her hands together, unable to stop moving with her nerves on high alert. All of her thoughts were torn between her unborn child and their father. Brian had come to see her, had come to her apartment, and now he was fighting for his life because of another sick, bastard SVU had attracted.

But her thoughts were interrupted. It was a young doctor who entered the room in a hurry. "Hi, I'm Dr. Hansen." He introduced himself to Olivia, who was paying no attention to the young man as she was more preoccupied with other things.

"I know we're waiting on an OB to come check on you, but for right now I'm going to check some other things and get your IV started."

Olivia nodded in reply, not in a mood to talk.

The doctor worked fast and silently after that, sensing that anything he had to say was not welcome.

Less than twenty minutes after they arrived and after the ER doctor had left, the OB walked in. And Nick, who was still in the room with Olivia, saw her relax slightly at the familiar face.

"Okay, Olivia. Let's see what's going on with this baby." The doctor was the OB Olivia was seeing for her pregnancy. Dr. Dawson had just happened to be in the hospital for another patient's delivery, when she heard they needed an OB in the ER and that the patient was one of her own.

"Are you still cramping?" Dr. Dawson asked her patient.

"No." Olivia answered her. "I haven't felt any since we got here." This was true, as soon as they had reached the room they seemed to stop. The pain subsided, but Olivia was still worried about what had been the cause and if any damage had been done.

"That's good. That's very good." Dr. Dawson put on a pair of rubber gloves. "I'm going to examine you and get the ultrasound tech down here."

Nick watched Olivia turn to him, a look of embarrassment on her face, not wanting her partner in the room while she was examined. And Nick felt the same awkwardness. "I'm going to leave so that you can continue. I'll be in the waiting room if you need me, Liv."

She made eye contact with him and gave him a small, quick nod. She was grateful he had been there for her, but she just wanted to be alone. He didn't need to hold her hand.

The exam seemed to last forever as Olivia was poked and prodded by her doctor. But the doctor had to do her job and Olivia just had to get through it. After finishing her own exam, Dr. Dawson stayed in the room while the ultrasound tech did her job. Olivia waited silently for both women to decide what was wrong. But it seemed that neither found anything out of the ordinary.

The tech left with her equipment and Dr. Dawson waited for her to get out the door, so she could talk to Olivia.

"My exam and your ultrasound show that everything is okay. I think the stress of all that happened was the cause. I'm going to get you something now for your blood pressure. But I would like to keep you for observation overnight." Dr. Dawson explained. "I think it would be best if you could try and get some rest now, though."

"Thank you." Olivia told her, relieved that the baby was fine, but it still didn't calm her feelings about Brian.

But her exhaustion hit her and she realized just how tired she actually was. Even her worries and concerns couldn't stop her from falling asleep only minutes after the doctor had left the room.

The next couple of hours passed slowly for the squad. Nick had returned to Liv's room, where he sat in a chair next to her bed while she got some much needed sleep. Fin and Amanda had stayed in the waiting room, so they would be there if they heard anything about Brian or Sutton, which they did after almost three hours.

They had already been told that the only bullet that had hit Sutton had been a through and through. He had only gone into surgery because the doctor wanted to stop the bleeding, remove the bullet, and close the wound. So they knew the disgusting asshole would be fine. Brian, however, hadn't been so lucky. He had taken a bullet to the chest and one to the abdomen, there had been a lot of bleeding and the doctors were struggling to control it. Fin and Amanda knew it wasn't looking good, but they couldn't lose hope for Olivia or think that the father of her child wouldn't pull through.

The doctor came to the waiting room after the nurse told him they were the ones to speak to about Brian Cassidy. Fin had gotten up from his seat and met the young doctor half-way. Amanda watched as the doctor spoke to Fin. His back was to her and all she could see was the stoic face of the doctor, which wasn't giving Amanda even an inkling of what he was saying to her partner.

But when they finally stopped talking and Fin turned around to look at Amanda, he didn't need to tell her what he had just been told.

It took a while before either of them spoke. They didn't know what to say to each other or what to say at all about anything that had just happened. They had been at the precinct earlier that evening, they were ready to go home and finally have a night off. The last thing either of them expected was to have to be sitting in a hospital, unable to speak because what was happening was so unthinkable.

After what seemed like hours of silence between them Amanda spoke. "Do you want me to go in there?" Amanda offered.

"No." Fin said. "I worked with both of them; I should be the one to tell Olivia."

Amanda nodded, knowing the relationship history he had with Brian and Olivia. But she knew that it would be the hardest thing Fin would ever have to do.

Fin shuffled his feet down the hallway, going as slow as he possibly could. The task at hand was one he certainly didn't want to carry out, but he had no choice. It would be that much worse if someone else was to get to Olivia first. She deserved at least a familiar face with her horrific news.

He opened the door to the nurse and Nick helping Olivia out of bed. While the nurse stayed focused, both Nick and Olivia immediately turned their attention to Fin. Nick saw it right away, exactly what he had been hoping not to see. Fin's face was heavy with grief and he knew just what that meant.

Olivia, of course saw it too. Her eyes widened in horror as the realization hit her. Nick, who was holding her up could feel her body begin to tremble.

"No…" Her voice came out quivering and filled with disbelief.

Fin sighed, feeling like the worst person alive having to deliver the news to his sergeant. "Brian didn't make it Liv…"

The tears were falling down her face now. "No, please…"

"I'm so sorry, Liv…" But Fin knew that no matter how many times he apologized to her, she would never forgive what happened.

"No!" Olivia screamed as the news sunk in. "No!"

Fin was stunned. He had spent fifteen years with Olivia at SVU. She was the toughest person he had ever met and now he was watching her fall apart at the seams.

"He can't be gone. He can't be!" Olivia cried out to no one but herself.

Nick watched as his partner and commanding officer finally broke. Her tears became sobs that racked her body and made her shake with anger and sadness. Her body collapsed underneath her, as the weight of the world seemed to crash down on her. The weight of loneliness, sorrow, and most of all not getting to say good bye to the one person she truly loved. Nick caught her just before her body hit the ground.

Pulling her up, he held onto her so he could support her weight. And he could feel Olivia's body fall into his, as she mourned her loss. The sobs that shook her body, vibrated against him. He was helpless, there was nothing he could do, but keep her from falling further than she already had.