She and Brian would spend the morning playing phone-tag. While she was in the shower, he'd called to check on her but when it went to voicemail, he assumed that she was still asleep and decided to call back later and sent her a text. Once she'd gotten dressed, she noticed a missed call then read the text and tried calling him back but he was in the tunnel, driving back into the city so the call never came through on his end. She left a quick message on his voicemail.

"Hey babe, it's me. Sorry I missed your call but, we're both fine, don't worry. Anyway, Nick should be here soon so I guess I'll call you when I get to work. I love you!"

No sooner than she'd ended the call, the doorbell rang. She tossed the phone onto the sofa before going to answer the door.

"Nick, you're a little early." She said as he walked in.

"Giving time for traffic. Man, look at you!" she smiled, shaking her head as he rubbed her belly.

"Hey buddy!"

"Buddy?"

"Or...sweetie" she laughed as the baby kicked. "so, last day at work before maternity leave. You excited?"

"No."

"No?"

"Seriously, what am I supposed to do for the next two weeks before the baby comes? I'm gonna go crazy!"

"You could... take the time to relax."

"I don't know how to relax!" she said grinning when the doorbell rang again. She and Nick were still standing in the entryway so she reached over and opened it.

"Morning ma'am, I have a delivery for Mrs. Olivia Cassidy." The young man said.

"Um, that's me." Olivia was curious. She wasn't expecting anything.

"Sign here please." He handed her a tablet where she quickly scrawled her signature and handed it back to him. "Thank you. Okay guys, bring it in!" he called. Three additional delivery persons walked into the apartment, each carrying several boxes of varying sizes, all from Petit Tresor - one of the most expensive baby stores in New York City. After they had placed the boxes in the living room and exited the apartment, one more item was brought in. Olivia's jaw dropped when she saw it; it was the stroller she'd been wanting but couldn't rationalize spending $2,000 on. Yet here is was, in front of her, wrapped in a huge silk bow and absolutely beautiful! She thought she'd faint from excitement.

"This has to be a mistake!"

"No mistake." He said as he handed her an envelope. "Congratulations on the little one; enjoy!"

"Let me get you a tip" Nick said, reaching for his wallet.

"...already taken care of. Have a good one!" He said before leaving. Olivia shut the door and she and Nick walked into the living room where she sat on the arm of the sofa and opened the envelope in her hand, removing the card inside. She laughed before reading the card out loud

Liv and Brian,

Sorry I couldn't make the shower, but I didn't forget the gifts!

Love always,
Alex

Olivia was genuinely touched. "My god, it's too much!" she exclaimed, lifting the phone from its base on the end table and dialing.

"I'll put everything in the baby's room."

"Thanks Nick!" the phone rang a couple times before it picked up on the other end.

"Hey doll!" Alex answered.

"Cabot, what did you do?"

"I take it you got the delivery. I hope you like everything."

"I haven't gotten to the boxes, but, if the stroller is any indication, I think it's safe to say I'll love it, but really, Alex, you shouldn't have spent so much!"

"Are you kidding? Liv, you've been like a sister to me and my sister is having her first child, you have no idea how excited I am!"

"I know, it's just-"

"Hey, Aunt Alex is going to spoil this kid, even if I have to do it from Seattle, so don't even bother fighting it!" Olivia laughed as tears fell from her eyes, damn hormones!

"Okay, I cannot go into work all teary!" Alex laughed from her end. "I love you and I will call you later. Thank you so much for the gifts."

"I love you too, Liv, and you're welcome. Talk to you later."

Olivia put the phone down on the table as Nick returned from his third trip to the baby's room.

"Just let me grab my bag and we'll go." She told him, while wiping her eyes.

"You okay?"

"Hormones. I'll be fine. She got up and walked across the room to grab her bag from the counter, wincing at the pain in her back that had been constant these last couple months. Within seconds, she and Nick were out the door, she forgetting her cell phone that was still on the sofa. A half hour later, it began to vibrate.

Across town, Brian listened as it rang in his ear, as he sat in the car waiting for her to answer.

"You ready to do this?" his partner, Luke Slepinski called from where he stood outside the car.

"Yeah, just checking on the wife, gimme a second." He finished just as her voicemail came on. He sighed just before it beeped. "Hey Liv, I guess this phone thing's not working for us today which kinda sucks since I haven't talked to you all morning. I hate that I have to cut this call short but, hey, duty calls right?" he paused briefly, as if in deep thought before continuing. "I don't know if I say it enough, but I love you and I love the life we have together...you're everything." He looked over at his partner and smiled. "Anyway, I gotta go, Luke's bein an ass as usual!" Luke was outside the car teasing Brian by playing a mock violin. "I'll be off in time to pick you up, I love you babe!" he said before hanging up and putting his phone his pocket then exiting the car.

"You dick!" he said laughing as he took the vest Luke handed him and joined the other detectives.

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Mushy!" Luke grinned.

"What can I say? She's the love of my life!" Brian smiled while securing the bullet-proof vest.

"Whipped!" Luke joked.

"Proudly! Let's do it!" Brian said before heading into the dilapidated building in which they were about to make a huge bust, closely followed by SWAT.

Another half hour later, Olivia was done with her checkup and had just come out into the waiting area where Nick was seated. He stood up when she walked in.

"Thanks again for driving me."

"Don't worry about it. Everything check out ok?"

"Yes, we're both fine. You know what would be so good right now?" she asked, rubbing her belly as they walked to the elevators.

"Let me guess, Cold Stone?"

Suddenly, an eerie cold ran through her and she shuddered, drawing in a deep breath.

"Liv, you alright?"

"Yeah, I just...it's like a chill went through me...weird." She shook it off.

"You sure?"

"It was nothing, I promise." That seemed to put him at ease. "now, about Cold Stone..." he smiled, looking at his watch.

"I guess we have time." He said as they got on the elevator.

"Hear that, baby? Uncle Nick's gonna get us ice cream!" she said, looking down at her belly. He shook his head,

"This kid is single-handedly turning Badass Benson into a pile of mush!" he said, grinning as the doors closed.

Across town was a bloodbath! The raid had gone horribly wrong. Suspects had been killed, children who were in the stash house had been wounded. It was a sloppy bust that they'd gone into Ill-prepared because of misinformation about what to expect once they were inside. They had no idea that there were children involved, and they certainly had no idea that these goons would be prepared with an arsenal of high-tech weapons and a squadron of street soldiers waiting to open fire. Five officers had gone down before it was all over; four of them critically wounded, one of them, though still breathing, fatally wounded. And as his partner leaned over him, desperately trying to stop the bleeding from his neck, he knew that it was already a lost battle.

"Don't try to talk, help is coming!"

"It's too l-late"

"No, you're gonna be fine!" he argued. But he knew, even as the words left his mouth that they weren't true. His partner was getting paler by the second. As they were backing out, Brian had been hit by a bullet to the neck that pierced his carotid artery. The amount of blood he was losing and the pace at which it spilled was sickening and it kept coming despite the pressure that Luke was applying in an attempt to stem the flow.

"You have to tell...you have to tell her th-that I love her!" he struggled to get it out. It was becoming harder to breathe. He was so cold. He knew that he was dying, that within moments, he would take his final breath here on this sidewalk. As tears slid down the sides of his face, the only thought in his mind was her. "You, t-tell her I'm s-s-sorry and I love her!"

"I will, I swear! Oh god, Cassidy, don't do this, man come on, not like this!" Luke was in tears and he didn't care who saw. He was holding his partner in his arms, helplessly watching him bleed to death and knowing that there wasn't a damn thing her could do about it. "just hang on!"

"You were a g-good partner" Brian said looking up at him. Suddenly, a look of calmness washed over him and his eyes were focused on something in the distance. He smiled before he uttered his last word, "Olivia..." he then released a final, strangled breath and he was gone.

"Cassidy? Cassidy?" Luke cried frantically. "No man, no...no!" he cried as he cradled Brian's head to his chest and reached out with a bloody hand to gently close his eyes. "Oh God, please!" he prayed, sobbing uncontrollably over his partner's body.

THE 16th PRECINCT

An hour later, Nick and Olivia walked into the squad room, arm in arm and laughing. Their merriment ended abruptly when they noticed the somber tone of the room and that all eyes were suddenly on them.

"Okay...what's going on?" Olivia asked. Fin hung his head and Amanda turned away, unable to keep her tears at bay.

"hello?" Nick called out, confused by the silence." It was Cragen who finally spoke up.

"Liv, I need you in my office." Something in his tone made her very uneasy.

"Captain...is something wrong?"

"Just, please. Come into my office." He restated softly as he put his hand on her shoulder and led the way. She could feel her apprehension building with every step and looked back at Nick nervously for some reassurance. Nick's eyes caught hers and she saw that his held just as many questions. That really unnerved her and she looked away. Nick though, kept watching as they walked toward and disappeared into the office, the door shutting behind them.

Once inside, Olivia was surprised to see Brian's Captain standing by Cragen's desk and in his official uniform, the same solemn look on his face that her own captain wore on his.

"Captain Johnson, Sir - if I may...what are you doing here?" She was nervously running her hands over her belly. The knot that was forming in the pit of her stomach told her that she already knew the answer and suddenly, last night's dream was flashing through her mind. The baby felt her anxiety and began moving inside her as if too were trying to prepare itself for the inevitable blow that was coming. Captain Johnson looked over at Captain Cragen and it was Cragen who spoke.

"Olivia, maybe you should sit down."

Outside in the bullpen, Nick tore his eyes away from Cragen's office and turned to look at his colleagues.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?" he was shocked when Amanda threw herself into his arms sobbing.

"We tried c-calling but there was no answer, and..." she was so distraught, she could barely speak.

"Calling for what?" Nick asked but Amanda was of no further use and she ran off to the ladies room crying even harder than she had been.

"It's Cassidy." Fin answered

"Cassidy? What about him?" Nick asked, obviously confused and with urgency in his voice.

"He's gone man."

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Gone where?"

"I mean..." Fin simply gave him a look that told him exactly what he meant. It hit him like a brick.

"Oh my god, Liv!" he said as he turned to go to her. Fin put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Captain's with her, he'll do his best to soften the blow."

"There's no softening this blow man! She's already been to hell and back and he was the only thing keeping her sane!" He yelled angrily as he pulled away from Fin and sent his fist flying into the filing cabinet nearby. The entire squad room turned their attention to him but none of them said a word, because inside, they all felt the same rage at this latest injustice that had been cast upon their leader.

"How did it happen?" He asked Fin as he wiped away the tears that streamed his face.

Inside Cragen's office, She was numb. She sat there on the sofa and stared off into nothing and in a barely audible voice she chanted "I saw it" again and again. Cragen was still talking to her but her ears allowed no sound to reach her and her senses blocked out everything around her and she remained that way for a long moment when suddenly her baby began kicking and she put her hands to her belly, suddenly snapping out of it.

"It's okay..." she whispered to her child as she began to cry. Her tears were fast and heavy. "It's a mistake." She said louder as her voice shook with sobs. She still hadn't looked up at either of them.

"Liv - " Cragen started.

"NO! It has to be a mistake because he wouldn't...just leave. H-he wouldn't... He wouldn't! Captain he wouldn't!" she cried.

"I know." Don said as he sat beside her, taking her in his arms. She immediately sank into them and the second she did, she came completely undone, crying in pitiful, heartbreaking sobs that wretched from deep in her soul. Outside, any hope that the squad had of holding it together was now gone! Hearing Olivia's cries broke everyone, and the whole unit was now in tears.

MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE

It was just after 4pm when Nick and Olivia arrived at the ME's office. She had been adamant on wanting to see Brian right away. Melinda didn't want to have Olivia further traumatized, so she held off on starting the autopsy until after Olivia viewed his body and she took the time to wash away the blood that he'd been covered in.

Olivia was beside herself. She couldn't even walk without Nick to lean on. As they approached the area outside the autopsy suite, she was surprised to see Luke sitting there in the informal waiting area, his head in his hands.

"Luke?" he looked up at her, his eyes were red and puffy from all the crying he'd done. He was still in his blood-soaked clothes from this morning.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't be here, I just couldn't bring myself to leave him."

"Of course you should be here." She assured him as Nick helped her into the chair beside him. You were his partner for eight years. If anyone has the right to be here, it's you."

Nick couldn't believe it. She had just lost her husband yet, here she was consoling his partner.

"How you holdin up?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still just..." she trailed off as she caught her breath and wiped away new tears that had fallen. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Luke's clothes, covered in Brian's blood and reached out, gingerly skimming her fingers over the hem of his shirt sleeve. "did he suffer?" she asked, her voice still shaky, more tears tumbling from her eyes.

"No. From the time the bullet...it was pretty quick." His own tears began falling again. "He just talked to me until it was...until he..." she swallowed the cry that was caught in her throat.

"What did he say?" she asked in a whisper.

"He told me I was a good partner." They both smiled through their tears. "and he um...he made me promise to tell you that he loves you, and he's sorry." She put her hand to her mouth, shaking from the sobs she was trying desperately to hold in. Nick laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. He was crying again too.

"Then he smiled and called your name...and he was gone. Right there in my arms, he..." he broke down sobbing again. Olivia threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry!" he cried as he held onto her.

"Don't be, it's not your fault." She said. Nick turned away to wipe his own tears just as Melinda stepped out of the autopsy suite.

"Hey Doc."

"Nick." She smiled as much as she could. "Liv, whenever you're ready."

"Go home." Olivia told Luke. He nodded as he wiped his tears before getting up.

"You be strong." He said to Olivia before walking away. She was too drained to even try getting up on her own so she called Nick over to help. He took her hands in his and firmly yet gently pulled her to a standing position.

"Liv..."Melinda began, but stopped and hugged her friend tight. "If there is anything I can do, anything at all, you don't hesitate to ask. Understood?"

"Thanks Melinda." They embraced for another short moment before pulling apart.

"You sure about this? Melinda asked, fighting back tears. Olivia nodded as she bit her bottom lip. She took a deep breath as Melinda put her arm around her and led her in toward the autopsy suite.

BENSIDY APARTMENT. LATER THAT EVENING.

"Why don't I go to the kitchen and make you something to eat?" Nick offered as they walked into the apartment.

"I'm not hungry. I just wanna sleep!"

"Liv, you haven't eaten since this morning, you gotta keep your strength up for the baby." He said in his gentlest voice.

The baby... this little one is all I had left of him now. She thought as she wistfully rubbed her belly, she had to, no matter how she felt, do what was best for him or her.

"Okay." She agreed simply with no emotion, the exhaustion unmistakable in her voice. "I'm gonna go lie down."

"You need anything?" she simply shook her head almost as if she were unsure before heading towards her bedroom but then stopping.

"Just...if anyone calls..."

"Say no more. Go and rest. I'll get you when dinner's ready."

She nodded and went off to her bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind her. Nick went to the kitchen in search of something he could prepare for her to eat.

Once inside, she stepped out of her shoes before walking into the bathroom and stripping off her clothes. Usually, she was obsessive about neatness but she didn't give a second thought as she let them fall to the floor. When she'd taken everything off, she stepped into the shower and turned the water on.

Fifteen minutes later, freshly scrubbed, she pulled one of Brian's tee shirts over her head and down over her belly and pulled on a pair of leggings. Her hair was still damp from having just washed it but she was in no mood to be bothered blow-drying it.

She took a deep breath as her eyes scanned their bedroom and with the back of her hand, swatted the lone tear that made its' way down her cheek. She walked over to Brian's side of the bed and stared down at it before sitting down, running her hand atop the comforter. Her tears came heavily again and she sat there and let them fall. After a moment she lay down, curled on her side, her arms wrapped protectively around her baby and she began crying silently into his pillow. Her mind wandered back to the ME's office; seeing him lying there on that table so pale, so still; so cold.

"Bri, you can't go...you made a promise to me, remember? Forever... we're not there yet." She said as she held his hand and lovingly stroked his hair, her tears falling steadily.

She squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to push it from her mind. Her love, her life, her husband, her rock... gone, and she never got the chance to say goodbye. More tears fell and the baby was again, moving anxiously in her womb but this was different from its' normal activity, it was as if the baby knew that something was wrong outside its' little cocoon and was reacting to it.

"It's ok baby, mama's got you." She said softly through her tears while rubbing her lower belly. "it's gonna be ok... I just don't know how. Your daddy is a whole lot better at this optimism thing than I am." Brian would sit and talk to their baby every day since before there was even a bump. She remembered when he first found out that she was pregnant, that night he'd spent hours talking to her still flat tummy. He wanted his child to know his voice, and it did; it was his voice that calmed their little one when he or she was brutalizing Olivia's insides with its kicks or when he or she just wouldn't stop moving so that she could rest and, ironically, his voice was what got their baby excited when she came home at the end of a long day, not just his voice but his touch. His child already knew him and it broke her heart upon realizing that, two weeks from now, when he or she entered the world, they would never know the comfort of being safe in his arms.

She blew out a deep breath in an attempt to stave off more tears but the effort was unsuccessful. She was completely devastated; her heart irretrievably broken and her mind still unable to fully grasp what was happening. How could everything fall apart so fast? She wondered as more tears fell. There were so many things racing through her head that it was hard to sort them out but the one thought that kept coming to the forefront over and over from the moment she had been told of his death; why? With everything she'd been through, why this too?

Her thoughts were cut short when she was startled by the sound of the phone ringing. She simply closed her eyes, choosing to shut it out. After the third ring, it stopped. Nick had picked it up from the living room.

"Cassidy residence."

The caller was confused at the voice on the other end of the phone. Had she dialed wrong? Perhaps, gotten a different Cassidy residence?

"Is Olivia home?"

"She is, but she's resting. May I ask who's calling?"

"Yes, this is Mary Cassidy, her mother-in-law. I assume my son hasn't gotten in yet? By the way, to whom am I speaking?" Nick's eyes went wide and he felt his stomach drop to his feet - she didn't know! Olivia told him on the way to the morgue that Mary had left for a cruise five days ago and since there was no signal in the middle of the ocean, she could only be reached when the ship would dock somewhere and she'd call them to check in. It had been two days since they'd last heard from her.

"Um, this is Nick Amaro, Olivia's partner."

"Oh yes, the nice Chicano boy I met at the wedding." Mary recalled. Nick decided that now was not the time to be offended by the old woman who was still stuck in 1970.

"Yeah, um, Mrs. Cassidy, I'm gonna put you on hold for just a moment, ok? Just... hold on." He said and hit the hold button on the phone. "Shit!" He didn't want to have to put Olivia through this, but right now, there was no one else. He couldn't call up Brian's captain and 3-way the call, he had to do it. He took a breath before heading to Olivia's bedroom and softly knocking on the door.

"Come in." he heard her call from inside. He slowly opened the door, dreading what he was about to do and stepped inside. It hurt him to see her lying there looking so fragile, he quickly swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke.

"Dinner's almost ready, but um...you have a call."

"I don't wanna talk to anyone."

"I know, and I'm sorry but you need to take this one... It's Brian's mom" neither of them said a word for a moment. Olivia slowly sat up and reached for the phone on the nightstand.

"I'm right outside if you need me." she nodded before he turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him and going back to the kitchen. She bit into her lip, dreading what she was about to do as she looked down at the phone in her hand before answering.

"Mary, it's Olivia."

"Well it's about time! I feel like I've been on hold forever! I am calling internationally and believe me, it is not cheap! So how are you, Dear? Is everything ok with the baby? Speaking of the baby, I've been picking up the cutest little things for her along the way..."

"Mary..."

"I found a gorgeous little shop when we docked in Aruba and everything was just so beautiful, I wanted to buy it all! I remember, my late husband would always yell at me, he was such a spendthrift but you know me when it comes to shopping..."

"Mary..."

""Mary, you're gonna send us to the poorhouse the way you go through money" he'd always say. I could never make him understand that sales were the key to -"

"MARY!" Olivia yelled, exasperated with her mother-in-law after less than a minute. This was a new record for Mary. The older woman went silent and Olivia took a calming breath before she continued.

"What is it dear?"

"...you need to come home."