Her hand rests in both of his as she continues to sleep. His eyes never leave the fetal heart monitor, nor hers. He can't believe he was just sitting there watching TV and not paying any attention to her. The doctors and nurses had rushed in, injected something into her IV line. Told him he had nothing to worry about. Preterm labor was a common side effect of the surgery. He knew this. He had done his research, too. He knew the risks. But knowing them and experiencing them were two different things.

There's a knock on the door and he looks up to see Casey standing in the doorway, Kayla sleeping against her chest. "Hey," he says.

"Hey," she replies back. "So, how did everything go?"

"Docs say it went well. She gave us a little scare awhile ago, but she's been doing fine ever since."

"What kind of scare?"

"Preterm labor."

"Oh my God. What did her doctors say?"

"They said it's a common side affect, and that they were going to watch her for a couple days and make sure everything is ok before they send her home, but she should be fine."

"That's good."

"How was your day?"

"Good. We went exploring, and to the children's museum and such. It was nice."

"That's good. She wasn't too much trouble was she?"

"No. Not at all. She was actually kind of quiet. Which I thought was strange."

"It is. I think she misses Liv."

"Yea, I brought her by to see her, but it looks like they're both sleeping so I'm going to just tuck her in back at the hotel."

"Actually, I'll just keep her. Liv was asking for her earlier. I think she'll want to see her when she wakes up."

"Alright," she carefully passes him his sleeping child to her father and watches him settle her into a comfortable position. She heads to the door and watches him glance at his wife with longing.

"Everything ok, Elliot?"

"Huh? Yea. I just wish…she didn't have to do this. There were other things we could have done. The surgery wasn't our only option."

"Yea, but it was your best option."

"Still. She didn't even consult me in any of this. She made the decision on her own, and I just fell in line behind her. I should have fought her harder on all of this."

"Elliot, she's doing all this for you. It's not just for them."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Casey sighs. Not sure if she should reveal this simple truth, but it couldn't hurt. "You wanted another baby."

She watches as realization dawns on him. "She's doing all this… for me?"

"Yes. Back when you mentioned it, she was really unsure about it. But she loves you. She wanted to do something to make you happy. To show you that she loves you. To help save your marriage. She didn't think it would last if she said no, and she probably feels it won't last if anything were to happen to either of the babies. You know a lot of marriages end not too long after the death of a child."

He stares at his wife in disbelief. "She's doing this for me," he sighs. "She did all this for me and I go and accuse her of trying to pass off another man's child as mine."

"You did what? Elliot!"

"She was lying to me about being friends with Peter again, and I… The timing fit."

"Elliot, I can't believe you would think that. Olivia would never do that. Even I know that."

"I know. I'm an ass." He sighs. "Why don't you head on back to the hotel? I'll see you in the morning."

She smiles at him sympathetically and pats him on the back and then leaves. Elliot continues to stare at his wife. He takes her hand in his and kisses her fingers. "I'm sorry," he whispers into the night.

xXx

Hours later Olivia wakes from a deep slumber and looks over to see a pair of large blue eyes staring at her. She smiles. "Hi, baby." Kayla stares back but doesn't utter a word. "Wanna come lie with Mommy?" She nods and slides off her father's lap. She tries to climb up onto the bed and Olivia does her best to help her up without moving too much. Once she's on the bed the little girl quickly cuddles up to her mother. Olivia holds her close and runs her fingers through her hair.

A couple hours later Elliot awakes and startles when he finds his arms are empty and searches around until his eyes settle on her tiny form, wrapped in her mother's arms. Olivia's fingers still moving slowly through the silky locks of her daughter's hair. She murmurs something quietly only for the little girl to hear, and she listens intently, her thumb secure in her mouth, the fingers of her other hand fisted in the hospital issued gown her mother wears.

"Hey," he says, and both sets of eyes turn towards him. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel ok."

He glances at the monitors. Everything is stable. "Good. You want anything? You need anything?"

"I'm fine," she smiles. "I just want you here. With us." He grins and moves in closer to them. "So what are we talking about?"

A few minutes later Casey arrives, "Hey guys. Liv! You look great. How are you feeling?"

"Good. A little stiff, but otherwise ok."

"That's good. I brought some clothes for her. We're headed to the aquarium today."

"Sounds like fun," Olivia replies and Elliot can see the wistfulness in her eyes.

"I'm going to start getting her ready."

"Nooo," Kayla whines and clings a little tighter to her mother.

Olivia turns to her. "Kayla. Your Aunty Casey has a fun day planned for the both of you. It's not going to be any fun here with me. So I need you to be a good girl and go with Aunty Casey so she can get you dressed ok?" Kayla nods and reaches for Casey and she lifts Kayla and settles her onto her hip.

"K. Thanks Casey. Have you seen my kids?" Elliot asks.

"They were sleeping when I left."

"Yea, they probably won't be up until at least noon."

Casey heads into the bathroom, and Elliot turns his attention to his wife. "You ok?"

"Yea. I finally have all this free time, and…I'm here," she sighs.

"You'll be out soon. The docs just want to keep a close eye on you because of what happened yesterday."

"I know. It's just…I should be taking her to the aquarium. Having that experience with her."

"You'll get your chance, Liv. I promise."

Casey emerges and Kayla is dressed in a pink jumper dress and a white turtleneck. She has on white tights on her little legs and matching sneakers to complete the outfit. Her hair has been pulled into pigtails. "Nice job Case," Olivia grins. "Good practice for your own huh?"

"I'm hoping for a boy. I can't do all that everyday."

"Gets easier with practice."

"Well, we're going to go now. I looked into it and they have a show with a sea lion or something that starts at eleven, and she hasn't had breakfast yet so we better get going."

"Alright. Come say goodbye to Mommy." Elliot lifts the little girl onto the bed and Olivia hugs and kisses her. "Be a good girl, ok?" she tells her daughter.

"'K," she nods and kisses her goodbye.

xXx

Olivia pushes away the tray of hospital issued food with a look of disgust. "I can't wait until I can eat real food again."

Elliot pulls up a plastic bag from under his seat, "So I guess it's a good thing I snuck this in."

Her eyes light up with glee. "What did you bring me?"

"Nothing special. Just a Philly chicken cheesesteak with sautéed onions and peppers. A little mayo. Some ketchup."

"How did you know?" she asks.

"You told me about it one time after you came back from that conference."

She eyes him in disbelief. "That was…years ago. I think our third year together. You remember after all this time?"

"Of course I remembered."

She smiles at him as she unwraps her sandwich. "I guess you really do love me."

He stares at her seriously. "Of course I do." He watches her bite into her sub and moan in pleasure.

"Liv, I want to talk to you about something."

"What?" she mumbles as she chews another bite.

"What I said to you…what I accused you of. I'm sorry. I never should have said that to you."

"Elliot. It's-"

"It's not ok. I should have never even thought that."

"But you did," she says and looks away from him. She stares down at the sandwich in her hands. "Is that…Is that what you think of me? Do you really think I'm capable of doing that?"

"Olivia a lot of people are capable of a lot of things."

"Not me. I would never do that to you. The thought of doing something that…deceitful wouldn't even cross my mind. The fact that you thought I wou-"

"I was wrong. I'm sorry, Liv. I was wrong. You know at work, I see so much. And there have been so many guys who find out-"

"But I'm not them. You know me El. That's not me."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"I forgive you."

xXx

Later that evening Olivia sleeps and Elliot sits beside her reading a book on their iPad. Casey walks in, Kayla by her side. "Hey."

Elliot looks up, "Hey." He smiles at Kayla. "Hey, princess. Can Daddy get a hug?"

Kayla rushes over to her father and wraps her tiny arms around his neck. Elliot pulls her into his lap. "What did you do today?"

"I saw fishies!"

"You did? What kind of fish did you see?"

"I saw the Nemo fish. And a big fish."

"How big was this fish?"

"It was this big," Kayla says, stretching her arms as far as they can go.

"Wow!" Elliot turns his attention back to Casey, "Was she better today?"

"Yea a bit. She kept asking for Liv, and I told her that she would get to see her later. That seemed to satisfy her. She really liked the Aquarium."

"Good. Well Liv's sleeping now and I think she should rest."

"How's she doing?"

"Good. Really good. Depending on how tonight goes, Docs think she'll be good to go by tomorrow. Another night at the hotel and I think it will be safe to head back home."

"Sounds like a plan. Did your kids come by today?"

"Yea, they all stopped by. They're really enjoying the city. When did you see them?"

"They came by the Aquarium earlier. Kathleen, Maureen, and Rick left after lunch, but Liz stayed to help me out a bit. She left around two to head here."

"Yea, I saw her. She left a few hours ago to meet up with the other three for dinner. Did you eat yet?"

"Yea, we got some pizza. She didn't eat much though. I guess she wasn't too hungry. So you want me to take her with me back to the hotel?"

"Yea. Liv needs her rest, and she should sleep in a real bed tonight."

"Alright. I'm exhausted so I'm going to get going."

"Ok. Goodnight Princess. You sleep tight and get going."

"Noooo," the little girl wines. "Want to stay with Mommy."

"Not tonight Baby. Now I need you to be a good girl, and go with Aunty Casey." The little girl's blue eyes well up with tears and she shakes her head. "Case, just take her, and thanks a bunch for all this."

"No problem. I'm just glad that I can do something to help." She lifts Kayla and her tears spill over and the wailing starts. Casey looks at him with uncertainty.

"Just go."

Casey heads down the hall, and Kayla's cries seem to grow in volume and persistence. He turns to Olivia and is surprised to see her awake. She closes her eyes, and tries to close out the sound of her daughter's cries as well. It doesn't work. "Get her," she grits out.

"What?"

"Now!" She says and stares at him so that there are no questions left.

He rushes down the hall and catches up to them just as Casey is about to step onto the elevator. Kayla is fighting and trying to get away, all while hollering at the top of her lungs. "Casey wait!" he calls. She stops and stares at him confusedly. "Olivia wants her." He reaches for his daughter and the little girl wiggles between the two, and takes off as soon as her tiny sneakers hit the tiled floor. "Thanks Casey," he says quickly, then takes off after his daughter.

Kayla reaches her mother's bedside and does everything she can to climb onto her mother's bed. Elliot comes in, and helps her up onto the bed, she wastes no time scurrying into her mother's arms. Olivia, holds her daughter close and stares at her husband with worry in her eyes.

xXx

"Mommy Look!" Kayla squeals as she positions herself for the perfect running start.

"I'm watching Baby," Olivia calls back to her from her poolside lounge chair.

"Mommy, are you looking? You looking Mommy?"

"Yes! Go!" Olivia laughs. She lifts her shades that help keep out the suns rays as they stream in through their hotel's bay windows that surround the indoor pool so that her daughter can see that she is, in fact, 'looking.'

Once they young girl is satisfied that her mother is, in fact, watching her, she takes off at a breakneck speed. She fearlessly jumps from the pool's edge, and for a second her heart stops and skips a beat as her daughter's long locks disappear beneath the pool's surface. But Elliot is there and, just like the previous thirteen times, he is right on cue and he lifts his baby girl, and her little face contorts as she gasps for air. He wipes her face and brushes her hair out of her eyes, and she turns in her mother's direction. She grins infectiously. "Did you see? Did you see Mommy?"

Olivia laughs. "Yes, I saw." She wishes she could be in the pool with the rest of her family, but the only way Elliot would allow her out of bed was if she agreed to remain in the lounge chair. Her phone buzzes beside her and she reads the text from Casey. "Food's here!" she calls out to the rest of the Stabler clan.

"Five more minutes!" Kathleen calls back as she and her sisters chase after Rick in an attempt to dunk him.

Olivia shakes her head and reaches for a towel and holds it out for her two year old. She wraps it around her and holds her close.

"Ready to go?" Elliot asks as he towers over them, dripping wet.

She hands him a towel as well. "Yea, let's go."

He quickly dries off most of the water before securing the towel around his waist. He lifts their little munchkin and holds out a hand to help Olivia up. He doesn't let her hand go until they've reached their hotel room.

xXx

Olivia steps out the shower and towels herself dry. She stares at herself in the mirror and sighs. New stretch marks have formed. She was lucky with Kayla. She didn't have a single mark on her body, but with this pregnancy she isn't so lucky. Thankfully they are faint, but they are still there and she hates them with a passion. She picks up the cocoa butter, and prays that the stuff really works, because she would like to have her old body back when this is all over, although she's starting to realize more and more that that is something that is probably not going to happen. There is a knock on the door. "Yea?" she answers.

"It's me." Elliot calls back. "Can I come in?"

"Yea."

Elliot opens the door and steps in before quickly closing it behind him. "You, ok? You've been in here awhile. Remember the doctor said no more than an hour a day on your feet."

"I know, El. I'm almost done."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just putting on some cocoa butter. "

"Here let me help." He sits on the toilet seat and takes the jar from her. He rubs some onto his hands before smoothing it over her burgeoning belly. He takes time and is mindful of area where the band-aids are. The only evidence she has of her surgery are two tiny slits on her stomach. "What's this for anyway? You never used this before."

"It's supposed to help with the stretch marks."

"So what if you have stretch marks. You're beautiful either way."

"That's what you say now."

"That's what I mean now, that's what I'll mean after the babies are born, and that's what I'll mean twenty years from now." He takes his time and also cleans the area where her incisions are, the way the nurse showed him and changes the band-aids. He finishes by kissing her stomach. "I love you guys," he tells them. "Where are your clothes?" he asks her, and she points to the toilet seat he now sits on. He helps her into her pajamas then takes her hand and leads her out of the bathroom.

"Hey you!" Olivia exclaims at their two-year old as she slurps up what is left of Olivia's spaghetti and meat sauce. Kayla turns and smiles at her. Her little face covered in sauce.

"Don't worry. I'll get her all cleaned up. You get in bed."

"Yes Dad," Olivia mocks but does as she says.

"Just be glad she's eating." Casey says from the doorway.

"She wasn't eating either?" Olivia questions, and the worry is clear in her voice.

"She missed you, Liv. That's all. I think she understands that hospitals are for sick people and it scared her a bit, but she's fine. She's been all laughs and smiles since you've been released."

"I know, but I still worry," she says as she watches Elliot try to wrestle their squirming child out of her bathing suit. "She's my baby."

"I know, but don't worry. She's fine. You're fine. Everything is fine."

Fine.