"I just wanted to make sure you're okay," Elliot had turned away from Olivia as he spoke softly into the phone. Olivia listened, trying to seem as if she wasn't completely uncomfortable by his presence. "I know…" she heard him say. "I know you said not to come up to the apartment…" He sighed, "I love you, too. Kiss Katiebug for me." Olivia smiled instinctively at the endearing nickname Elliot had given his granddaughter. He hung up the phone and laid it on the table.

"Are they okay?" She forced herself to speak.

Elliot turned to look at her, "Yeah…they'll be at Kathy's before long." He looked at her, dressed in her robe with her hair still up in the towel. "I better get home," he said nervously. "You look like you're ready for bed."

Suddenly Olivia was aware of how she looked and pulled the towel off her head, letting her hair hang in damp ringlets around her face. "Don't leave…" she couldn't believe how anxiously the words came from her mouth. Why was she asking him to stay? She hadn't heard from him in over three years and nothing had changed to make him want to talk to her now, but surprisingly he sat down on the sofa and stared at her, as if he expected her to say something profound. She sat across from him, perched on the arm of a chair and forced a smile, "It's been a long time…"

Elliot nodded and looked around the room, "I didn't know you'd moved." The small talk was painful. "This is a nice place. Really nice…"

"Brian and I moved here last year," she informed him.

"Brian?" he asked, surprised. He'd never imagined Olivia getting that close to anyone and he couldn't help but wonder about this guy.

"Cassidy…" Olivia explained. "You remember him, right?"

Elliot snickered, "That dumbass," he rolled his eyes. "Really Liv?"

"Don't talk about him like that!" Olivia defended her ex. "He's a good guy. He was here for me through a lot…things you couldn't even imagine. So just don't…"

"I'm sorry…" Elliot replied. "I should never…" he cleared his throat. "Where is he? I should at least say hello."

Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "He moved out…six months ago. We couldn't make it work."

"Oh…" Elliot understood. Olivia could never make it work with anyone and he never knew why, but he had to admit he was relieved by it.

Suddenly Noah's cries could be heard from the other room, interrupting their conversation. "Great…" Olivia sighed and wondered how her son had managed to sleep so long anyway. Between the pounding on the door, and the strange voice in the apartment, he was bound to wake up. "Let me get the baby…"

Elliot's eyes widened, "You have a baby?" he asked in disbelief.

Olivia stopped on her way to Noah's room and rolled her eyes, "Maureen is my nanny…you know that, right?"

Elliot knew he should have realized she had a child, but when he saw Olivia standing at the door he had been so shocked he'd forgotten everything else. To him, he was looking at the person he'd left behind three years earlier and he hadn't noticed that her life had gone on without him. He shook his head, "I'm sorry…of course It's a boy…right? Noah...Kate talks about him all the time." He watched her walk down the hall toward the nursery and sighed, "A baby…" he whispered to himself. Then he followed her.

Noah was standing in his crib, grabbing the side rails, with his face red from crying. Olivia picked him up and held him close, "It's okay…Mommy's here." She kissed him and sat with him in the rocking chair.

Elliot stood in the doorway, watching Olivia cuddle her son and he couldn't help but smile. He knew better than anyone how much she had longed for this. How she'd thought it would never happen for her. It made his heart melt to see her with her own child to love, "He's beautiful, Liv," he smiled. "He looks just like you."

"Thanks," Olivia smiled. She could have explained that Noah was adopted, but lately a lot of people had commented on how much the little boy looked like her. His big brown eyes and dark hair were enough to convince them that they were biologically connected. She'd decided no one really needed to know that she hadn't given birth to the baby boy. She was his mother…and he looked like her…that was all that mattered.

"How old is he?" Elliot noticed that the baby had calmed down immediately when Olivia began to rock him and was almost back to sleep.

Olivia held the baby close to her, "He's eleven months." She stood to put him back in his crib.

"Big birthday next month, huh?" Elliot asked. "First birthdays are really for the parents, not the kids, but it's a lot of fun." He looked more serious, "Is Brian coming…for his son's birthday?"

Olivia realized Elliot had assumed Brian was her son's father, and reasonably so. She was tempted to let him think it, but then decided that it wasn't fair to Brian or Noah. "Brian isn't Noah's father…" she explained.

"What?" Elliot asked in disbelief. "You said he left six months ago…"

"Not that it is any of your business," Olivia said with frustration. "But I wanted a baby and Brian didn't." She motioned for him to follow her out of the nursery and that sat in the living room. "We thought I was pregnant…Brian was so upset about it." She found herself pouring her heart out in a way she never did with anyone other than her therapist. "He didn't want a baby…not now. He thought we were too old…he liked his freedom…he was panicked." She sighed, "It turned out I wasn't pregnant. The doctor said I was probably starting perimenopause…that I probably can't have a baby. I think Brian was relieved when I told him that." She felt tears stinging her eyes and fought to hold them back. "But I didn't want to give up my dream…so we split up."

"But you have Noah," Elliot reminded her.

Olivia nodded and forced a smile, "Yeah…I found him. On a case. God…I loved him the second I saw him. He was in foster care for a while, but when his birth mother died, the judge asked if I was interested in adopting him. He's my miracle baby."

Elliot nodded, "I guess so…I'm happy for you. But really, Liv…he looks just like you. I can't believe he's adopted."

"It doesn't matter that I didn't give birth to him," Olivia insisted. "I could never love anyone else the way I love him. He's perfect…I'm so lucky…I never knew I could love someone this much, El. I couldn't live without him."

Elliot looked toward the door, "I should go. It's late."

Olivia noticed his demeanor change. When they had been talking about Noah, Elliot had seemed almost like his old self, but now he was sullen and eager to get away from her. Suddenly she realized that while she had been going on about not being able to live without her son, Elliot was probably thinking about losing Kathleen. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up or not, but she knew she didn't want him to leave. "You can't go," she insisted. "You owe me an explanation. Don't just walk out on me again." She pleaded. "Please…"

Elliot took a deep breath, nodding toward the kitchen, "Do you have beer?" he asked.

"I have wine," Olivia grinned.

Elliot couldn't help but laugh, "I guess that's better than the flowery tea you used to drink." The he turned serious, "If we're gonna talk…really talk…" he took a deep breath, "I'm gonna need a drink." He followed her into the kitchen, and Olivia felt her pulse race. She didn't have any idea what she'd gotten herself into, and now she was scared half to death.

I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I really appreciate all the reviews and those who are following/favoriting the story. It means a lot to me. Definitely motivation to continue. :) More soon...