DISCLAIMER: None of the characters are mine. Just the story.

A/N: First of all, thanks for the reviews! :) Secondly, I received a note from a concerned reader who seemed frustrated that my story was rated T and not M. I do apologize to anyone who was taken aback by the mature scene in the second chapter. I'm pretty new to and am still learning the system here. I've attempted to change the rating to M and I hope it works... thanks for understanding everyone. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Elliot opened the door to Olivia's apartment and flipped on the light. It was different from her apartment in New York but still so uniquely Olivia. It was warm and inviting, but something was wrong… there was absolutely no evidence that she would become a mother in two months' time.

"Liv," Elliot turned toward the woman coming up behind him. He took her arm and helped her through the door.

"I know." She always had the innate capability to read his mind. She accepted the assistance gratefully and they made their way through the apartment, toward her bedroom. "I guess, despite the fact that I've been looking increasingly like I'm carrying a bowling ball under my shirt, I've been in denial about this whole thing."

She paused and Elliot smirked, helping her to lie back against the insane number of pillows on her bed.

"I guess I was hoping that you'd come and find me… since I was too chicken to call you."

Elliot smiled. "I'm here now…"

"And that's all that matters," Olivia finished his sentence and smiled at him.

"Can I get you anything?" If there was one thing he knew, it was how to take care of a pregnant woman.

"Maybe some tea?"

Elliot smiled. "Still drinking that stuff?"

"Yes," she laughed. It was a habit she'd been unable to shake since Oregon. It was a habit that Elliot found amusing. "Besides… caffeine is bad for pregnant women."

Elliot nodded and, shifting his weight to stand, his eyes fell to her nightstand. It shouldn't have surprised him, but somehow it did, and he paused. Olivia was reading What to Expect When You're Expecting. He picked it up. "You couldn't have been too in denial. A little light reading?"

She smiled. "I wanted to take care of myself… for your child."

"Our child," he corrected, giving her hand a small squeeze. "I'll go get your tea." He stood, handing the book to Olivia. As he left the room, he snuck a glance back at her. She was flipping to the chapter where she'd left off. He smiled, enjoying the blissful monotony of it all, the routine, the comfort they'd already found in each other. He made his way down the hallway toward the kitchen. While he put on water for tea, he searched Olivia's cabinets for coffee; she had a coffee maker, the grounds had to be somewhere.

"In the cabinet next to the fridge!" He heard her call from the bedroom. He smirked. She knew him too well. He opened the cabinet, revealing coffee, filters and what he took to be Olivia's favorite coffee mug. He grinned and set about making himself a desperately needed cup of coffee.

Finally, he made his way back to Olivia's bedroom with the two steaming cups of liquid. She smiled upon his entrance and set her book aside, accepting her mug with gratitude.

"So," she said as he took a seat on the bed next to her. "Catch any good cases these last seven months?"

"Not really," he said. Not that he could really remember anyway; the last seven months were a blur to him. The time he'd spent without Olivia was time he'd much rather forget than remember. "How about you?"

"Not lately," she said. "I've mostly been on desk duty." She gestured toward her stomach and Elliot laughed. "But when I first got here, there was a good one."

She told him a long story about a trafficking ring she'd broken up. A man selling women to rich guys as sex slaves. She'd gone undercover, a supplier she'd made a deal with brought her to the ringleader. She'd been "sold" within 24 hours and her team moved in, but not before he'd pulled a knife and held it to her neck. An excruciating five minutes later, the ringleader was dead and Olivia escaped with a long cut across her collarbone.

Olivia pulled her blouse just slightly to reveal a scar, four inches long, across her chest. Elliot's fingers reached up tentatively and traced it.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"El," she said, her eyes hazy. He could see that loved the feeling of his fingers on her skin so he kept them there. "You know we make an amazing team, but…" she paused. "I don't need you to protect me."

"I know that," he said. "Doesn't stop my instinct to do just that, though."

She smiled in acquiescence. "Ditto."

Olivia could not possibly describe her relief that Elliot's life had not been in serious danger in the months that she'd been gone. She didn't think she could take that. He was right when he talked about instinct. Olivia remembered the feeling she always got in her gut whenever the two of them would enter an apartment or a warehouse, guns drawn, pulses racing. She always thought about what she would do if things went wrong, if Elliot was some how hurt or… killed. She would jump in front of a bullet for him, this much she knew.

"So," she said, sipping her tea carefully. She knew they were beating around the bush, not talking about what was actually important. "How are the boys?"

"They're good," Elliot said. "Worried as hell about you and wishing you were there."

Olivia smiled sadly and stared into her cup of tea. "God," she said, looking up at the ceiling and blinking back tears. "I wish I'd never left."

"I wish that, too," Elliot said. "But we can't change what happened. We just have to move forward."

Olivia nodded. She knew the conversation they needed to have was finally beginning. "So, what do we do?"

"We have to figure this out... I'm just hoping it ends with…" Elliot cleared his throat. She knew he was trying to hide his emotions from her. Always the tough guy. "Us… together," he finally finished.

Olivia smiled at him. "I miss New York." It was her way of telling him that it would… without having to say it. She was still adjusting to their new relationship. Granted, it made her happier than she'd been in a long time. But it was… different. She wasn't used to being so open, so candid with Elliot. Or anyone for that matter. But she was going to try her damndest to be honest with him. He deserved nothing less.

"New York misses you," Elliot grinned at her. Oh what Olivia would do for a shot of whiskey right now… or a glass of wine. Something. That smile Elliot flashed her always leveled her, always made her knees weak.

"El," she laughed, trying to compose herself.

"Okay," he said, giving her his best 'getting-down-to-business' look. "The way I see it, we face two problems: you have to stay here until the baby is born. And I have to go back to New York."

"But…" Olivia hesitated, since she was about to admit something that went against the strong woman she'd tried to make herself into. "I… I want you here when the baby is born." She hated admitting weakness. And asking him to be there for her while she went through one of the scariest, most excruciating events she could go through as a woman made her feel weak, needy. "I mean… what if something goes wrong? What if… what if the baby needs you?"

"Don't talk like that, Liv," Elliot said softly. "It scares me." And yet it seemed as though he was easily able to admit his fears to her. She knew his weakness… her.

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Nothing is going to go wrong. And I will be there for the birth of our child."

"How?" Olivia asked him honestly.

Elliot sighed, taking her other hand in his and turning slightly to face her fully. "I wish I could stay here with you these next eight weeks. I wish I could take care of you. But the reality of the situation is, I can't. I have to go back to New York. But I could come back… I could be here in a month, stay until the baby is born…"

Olivia sighed. Now that she had him here, she never wanted him to leave. It killed her to think of four weeks without him when she'd already endured what seemed like a lifetime. "I suppose we don't have any other choice," she said quietly. "And since I'm only on light bed rest, I'm not immobile or anything. It'll just be lonely… and really, really boring."

Elliot smiled at her and took her hand. Then, surprising the hell out of her, he leaned down and pressed his ear to her belly. She sighed contentedly and leaned her head back against the headboard, running her fingers gently through Elliot's short hair. It was utter bliss, being here with him this way. She couldn't imagine any other place she'd want to be. Her eyes closed and without even trying, she drifted off into a soft, peaceful sleep.

When Olivia woke later, the sky outside her windows had darkened and Elliot was nowhere to be found. She sat up carefully, slightly alarmed. He wouldn't leave so soon… and without a word. She listened and heard a soft voice coming from the hallway. He was on the phone, talking in hushed, serious tones to the person on the other end. He was obviously trying not to wake Olivia.

She strained to hear his side of the conversation and her heart stopped when she heard the word "Kathy."

He was talking to his wife… to his ex-wife. Of course, she needed to be told; this would affect her children. But Olivia was terrified that this turn of events would indeed confirm Kathy's fears about Olivia and Elliot's relationship. She would know… she would do the math and figure it out. And she would be angry as hell, especially since a child had resulted.

Things went quiet and Olivia could make out the sound of his footsteps, soft on the hardwood floors of her apartment. She saw his shadow in the doorframe and leaned over to click on the soft light on her nightstand. A warm glow filled the room and Elliot gave her a warm, but sad smile.

"I thought you might be up," he whispered, crossing the room, leaning down and giving Olivia the softest of kisses.

"Mmhmm," she replied, still a little sleepy but mostly curious. She wanted him to speak first.

"Did you… hear any of that conversation?" he asked her.

"A bit," she admitted. Elliot only nodded. "That was Kathy, then?"

He sighed and nodded again. Olivia waited for him to continue. She knew he would in his time.

"She's not happy," he finally spoke after a few moments. "She said she knew it all along. I tried to explain, but… she just wouldn't listen." He ran a hand down his face and Olivia could see the utter exhaustion in his eyes. "Then, all of a sudden, she stopped. She said that it didn't matter now; that it didn't change anything and that, even if this thing with you hadn't happened, a divorce would have eventually."

Olivia was surprised. Kathy wasn't normally this… rational. She could understand her being upset… they'd had an affair. It was wrong.

"Jesus, Liv, I thought she was going to take my kids from me."

Olivia took his hand and squeezed it. "But she didn't."

"No," Elliot said. "She didn't."

They didn't speak about it again. Olivia had a fleeting thought… one that she hadn't allowed herself before. Perhaps… things would be okay. Kathy had been a big hurdle and they'd gotten over it.

Maybe things would finally work out for her… Olivia could only begin to hope.