Thanks for the awesome reviews, and the comments about how quickly I am updating. Once I get on a roll, it is hard for me to stop thinking about the story, so I tend to get a lot written. Here is a little more...hopefully I will have another update later today. Your reviews encourage me to keep going, for sure...so thanks!

"Mama…mama…mama" Noah's happy voice squealed when Olivia walked through the door. He had just started saying it, and it melted her heart every single time. She smiled and picked him up, kissing him on the cheek. "Mama…" he babbled again, happily.

"I missed my big boy," Olivia carried him to the sofa and sat him on her lap. "Were you good today?"

"Oh, hi Olivia," Maureen came out of the bathroom, Kate trailing behind her. "Noah got away from me when I was taking Kate potty. He's a little escape artist lately."

Olivia laughed, knowing her son's new found mobility was going to be a challenge. For a brief second she flashed to the thought of being hugely pregnant and trying to chase after him, but she quickly pushed that image from her mind, "I missed him today," she smiled. "So I came home a little early. You can go home early too if you want."

"Thanks," Maureen agreed. She got her things together and Kate climbed up on the couch to hug Olivia and Noah good-bye. "Oh…" Maureen added as she took Kate by the hand, "Dad called and said to tell you he'd be here to pick you up by 6:30." She headed toward the door.

"What?" Olivia turned quickly to look at her. "Why is he coming over here?"

Maureen shrugged, "He said he called and asked you and Noah to dinner and you called him back earlier but he didn't get your message. He assumed you were calling to say 'yes.'"

"Of course he did…" Olivia mumbled under her breath. She looked at her watch and knew she didn't have time to call him and cancel. He was probably already on his way. "Have a good night, Maureen," she waved as they walked out the door.

As afraid as she was of seeing Elliot, she had to admit she really wanted to see him. She wasn't going to tell him she was pregnant, but for some reason she longed to be with him. Besides that, she was hungry…something that only seemed to happen in the evenings now. She sighed, thinking of how she could eat enough for six people at dinner, but then she spent the rest of the day fighting persistent nausea. It was unfair. She stood up, carrying her son and smiled at him, "Do you want to go out and eat with Mommy and Elliot tonight?" she asked him and he smiled like he understood. She went into the bedroom, sitting Noah on her bed and laughing as he entertained himself by hiding under the comforter and then peeking out at her. She looked through the closet, trying to decide on something to wear. She didn't feel like dressing up, and since it was a casual meal at a family-friendly restaurant she figured she didn't need to. She grabbed her favorite pair of jeans, for a brief moment wondering if they might be too tight now, but she knew that was ridiculous. She wasn't showing yet, and she hated that she couldn't even choose a simple pair of pants without the pregnancy consuming her thoughts. She pulled off her dress slacks and slipped into the jeans, buttoning them easily. Then she grabbed a blue flowered blouse, laying it on the bed and pulling off her white button-up work shirt. She looked in the mirror, noticing her cleavage spilling out of her bra. Her bra was too tight, no wonder it had been digging into her skin all day. Maybe she should have noticed that before now. She was going to change it, but she knew she'd get the same result from all the others. "How did I go up a freaking cup size and not even notice?" she whispered to herself as she pulled on the shirt and wondered if it looked too tight across her chest. She was considering changing when she heard the pounding at the door, knowing Elliot had arrived and it was too late to pick a different outfit.

She picked Noah up off the bed, placing him on her hip and walked quickly to the door. Looking through the peep hole she took a deep breath seeing Elliot on the other side, then she unlocked the door and let him in. "Hey…" he flashed a toothy grin. "I was wondering if we'd ever get the chance to get together." He walked into the living room. "I haven't seen you in over a month." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then looked at Noah, taking his hand and tickling it, "How are you little man?" he asked. "Did you have a good birthday?"

"He did," Olivia smiled. "He loves the car you gave him. He hasn't stopped pushing those buttons. I'm about to take the batteries out," she laughed. "Can we go? I'm starving…" she realized she probably sounded a little too anxious and tried to cover for her mistake, "I skipped lunch today working on a case."

Elliot nodded as if it made perfect sense and led her out the door. When they arrived at the restaurant they were seated quickly and Olivia put Noah in the high chair, giving him his sippy cup and a few Cheerios. The baby was content to bang his cup on the table and see how much noise it could make. "He's growing so fast," Elliot smiled at the little boy. "I'm sorry I missed his birthday."

"It's okay," Olivia insisted. "I understand you didn't want to see everyone."

"I wanted to see you," he said honestly. "I should have come. I'm sorry…"

She smiled, "I should have returned your calls." She sighed, "El…I just don't want you to feel like I am trapping you in a life you don't want." The waitress came and took their orders, making sure to tell them how adorable the baby was and telling Elliot his son looked just like him. Elliot smiled and thanked her and when she left Olivia sighed, "See…like that. I don't want you to feel trapped like that."

"I don't, Liv," he insisted. "I'd be a fool not to want people to tell me this kid looks like me. He's adorable, you know?" He laughed, "But she's wrong…because he still looks like you."

"Yeah…she was just trying to get a good tip out of you," Olivia teased. "I need to use the ladies room…is it okay if I leave him with you?"

"Sure," Elliot nodded and played with the baby while she left. When she came back, the food was on the table, "Fast service here," he smiled as helped Noah with his dish of applesauce. The baby was making a mess, but seemed happy about it. Olivia sat down and took a bite of her cheeseburger. Elliot watched her devour her food and wondered if he'd ever seen her eat so much so fast, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she insisted as she stuffed French fries in her mouth and washed them down with her chocolate milk shake. Then she realized he was looking suspiciously at her and decided she should slow down. "I'm going to take Noah to the restroom and get him cleaned up," she said quickly, rising from the table. She picked up her son and headed toward the ladies room. When she came back, Elliot had cleaned up the table space around the highchair so Noah couldn't make a bigger mess and Olivia sat the baby back in the highchair, but he wasn't nearly as happy without the applesauce mess to play in. He started to whine and fuss, and Olivia put down what was left of her burger so she could take him out and calm him down.

"Go ahead and eat," Elliot said, and he picked up the baby and walked him out to the lobby. Olivia could see him bouncing the little boy and patting his back until Noah had calmed down. Then they came back and Elliot sat him in his lap instead of the highchair and Noah seemed happy with that.

"Do you want me to take him?" Olivia asked, watching Elliot try to eat his sandwich with her son cuddled in his arms.

"No," he said with a smile. "I know how to hold a baby and eat at the same time. I've had some experience with it you know." He laughed. Then he took the pickles off his sandwich and sat them on the plate.

"Are you going to eat those?" Olivia asked quickly.

"No…they are way too salty for this sandwich," he looked at her and laughed. "You want them, don't you?" She shrugged, embarrassed that she didn't seem to be able to control her appetite and cursing herself for it. "Eat them, Liv," he smiled and put them on her plate. "But do me favor…don't skip lunch anymore. I don't want to have to fight you for food the next time we go out on a date, okay? Next time I might want my pickles."

He laughed and she smiled as she put the pickles in her mouth, savoring the tangy dill flavor, "Trust me, I'm never skipping a meal again. I promise." It felt so good to eat that she tried to forget the fact that she'd end up throwing it all up later.

A couple of hours later they walked in her front door and Elliot kissed her softly on the lips, "Thanks for a great date," he whispered. "I've missed hanging out with you."

"Me too," Olivia admitted. She pulled off Noah's jacket, hanging it by the door.

"I think we should do this more often…at least once a week," Elliot suggested. "I know you want to take things slowly and I don't want to pressure you. I think a weekly date would be a nice start."

"I'd like that," she smiled. She knew if she told him about the baby, he'd forget all about taking things slowly. At least if she agreed to one date a week, she could avoid him finding out before she was ready to tell him. "I need to give Noah his bath and put him to bed," she hoped that would be Elliot's signal to leave, but he just walked in and sat on the sofa. She carried the baby into his room, grabbing clean pajamas and headed to the bathroom to run his bath water. Normally, this was her favorite time of day…sitting on the bathroom floor while her son played in the water, tiring himself out for bed. Today she was too tired to really enjoy it though. It seemed she couldn't keep her eyes open past Noah's bedtime for weeks now. "Come on sweetie," she picked him up and sat him in the warm water, then lowered herself of the floor next to the tub. Her jeans were digging into her side, something that had never happened before and she unbuttoned them. "Great…now my clothes aren't going to fit after I eat." She had an uncomfortable fullness in her stomach and knew she'd eaten too much, but for some reason she didn't seem able to control her hunger once it hit.

The baby was splashing and playing, and she could feel her eyes drooping, jerking herself awake every once in a while. She knew she couldn't keep Noah in the tub if she was going to fall asleep. It wasn't safe. "Come on sweetie," she sighed and started to reach for him, but the baby cried and wanted to play longer, so she put her head in her hands and tried to wait him out. "Noah…Mommy doesn't feel so good…we need to get you to bed."

"Liv," Elliot stood at the doorway. "Are you okay?" He walked in, thinking it had taken a long time for the baby's bath and was concerned when he saw her looking so out of it. "Liv?" he asked again, and she looked up at him.

"I'm fine," she insisted, raising her head to look at him. "I'm just so tired."

"You look exhausted," Elliot walked over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Why don't I finish giving Noah his bath and you go to bed," he suggested. He had never seen her look so pale and tired and it worried him. She started to argue, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. "Go on…I'll be in after I put the baby to bed."

She pulled herself up from the floor, suddenly feeling like the room was spinning around her. Then she leaned into him and lay her head on his chest. "You're staying tonight?" she asked him. "Maybe that's not such a good idea. I don't feel like…"

"Just to sleep," he assured her. "I want you to go tuck yourself into bed." He kissed her and smiled. "I think you've been working too hard. Skipping meals, falling asleep on the bathroom floor…I just want to make sure you get some rest tonight."

"Thanks," she whispered as she walked out of the bathroom and toward her own room. She pulled off her clothes and quickly threw on some sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt, relieved for the comfort of loose fitting clothes and climbed into bed. She fell asleep instantly, and didn't even notice when Elliot climbed into bed an hour later, wrapping her comfortingly in his arms.

The next time she woke up, the clock said 2:20 and she climbed out of bed, as quietly as she could, hoping she wouldn't wake up Elliot, but when her feet hit the floor she heard his voice, "Liv…where are you going?" he whispered.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she answered. "Go back to sleep." Lately she'd been waking up a couple of times a night to go to the bathroom, which was irritating, especially given how tired she was, but now that she knew about the pregnancy she assumed it would only get worse so she'd better get used to it. After she used the bathroom, she tiptoed to Noah's room, checking on him and smiling as she watched him sleep. She'd missed putting him to bed, and while she appreciated Elliot's help, she regretted not kissing her son goodnight. She walked back to her room, climbing into bed next to Elliot and leaning close to him.

He instinctively pulled her close, and whispered, "You okay?" and she could feel his warm breath on her neck.

"I'm fine," she assured him as she snuggled closer to him. Feeling his warm skin against hers, she'd never felt so safe. He loved her in a way no one else ever had and she knew she couldn't keep secrets from him any longer. He needed to know about the baby…their baby…she needed him to know. She couldn't carry this burden alone anymore. "El…" she whispered. "I need to tell you something…" But he didn't answer her and she could tell by his breathing that he was sound asleep again. She wasn't going to wake him up…so she closed her eyes and sighed, "I guess it can wait…" she whispered, and then she fell back asleep.