Thanks again for the kind reviews. I am so glad most people are happy with the direction the story is taking. Here is a little more...

The next morning, sunlight was streaming through the window when Elliot woke up, Olivia wrapped safely in his arms. She hadn't asked him to stay, but both of them knew she needed him. By the time they'd made it upstairs she was physically and emotionally drained, so much so that he had to help her into bed. Then he had insisted on staying with her in case she needed anything in the night, but she had slept straight through, and he was grateful for that. She needed to rest.

He pulled his arm carefully out from under her head, trying not to wake her, and she rolled over, groaning slightly, but not opening her eyes. She was wearing a tank top that clung to her shape and sweat pants that were way too big, but she was beautiful. She'd thrown the clothes on quickly when they came home the night before, anxious to get out of her others that were stained with blood, a reminder of the torment she'd gone through. He climbed out of bed, picking up her dirty clothes from the floor by the bed and taking them into the bathroom, soaking them in cold water and scrubbing them with detergent. He didn't want her to have to worry about it if he could. He was determined to make this as easy for her as possible.

Leaving the clothes hanging in the bathroom, he made his way to the kitchen. He looked through the refrigerator and cabinets, impressed that she seemed to have mastered the art of grocery shopping over the past few years, but then again she had Noah to think about so she had to have food in the house. He wanted to make her breakfast, but remembering how sick she'd been the last time he was there he wasn't sure it would be the best idea. So he made coffee for himself and a cup of weak tea for her and made it back to the bedroom just as she was opening her eyes. "Good morning" he smiled and sat next her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, sitting up and taking a deep breath, "Queasy," she admitted. "But I always wake up sick."

"Do you want me to help you to the bathroom?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No…I think I can hold it off a while," she sighed. "For the last week I've made it to mid-morning before I start hurling. Makes it easier to get ready in the morning…not as easy to get things done at work," she forced a smile and grabbed the cup of tea he handed her, taking a sip.

"Liv, what are you planning to do about work?" he asked, not wanting to upset her, but he was concerned about the safety of both Olivia and the baby.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm talking about light duty," he answered. "You know you need to ask for light duty."

"The law says I can work my regular job until 30 weeks," she reminded him.

"I don't give a damn about the law," he argued. "You know you're in no shape to be out on cases. Right now you're sicker than a dog, tired, you've been bleeding and cramping…and in a couple of months you're going to be uncomfortable and off balance. It isn't safe for you or the baby and it isn't safe for the other cops."

"I don't want to lose my position as commanding officer," she admitted. "I've worked hard for this. Besides, it pays better and I need the money. I have two kids to think about."

"Maybe you can still be C.O.," he suggested. "You can do all the pencil pushing and evaluations, observe interrogations and assign cases…just not go out and respond to any. They might go for that."

"Yeah right," she snickered. "You know they won't do that. I'm going to be sitting on my ass, looking up evidence and making phone calls for other people's cases. I'll lose everyone's respect and they'll just stare at me like I'm too fragile to do anything but take up space."

"You know that isn't true," he smiled. "No one is going to lose respect for you because of this, Liv. They're going to want to help you." He put his hand carefully on her stomach, rubbing in small circles, "Think about it…for the baby."

She nodded reluctantly, "I'll think about it," she promised. In all honestly she had been thinking about it a lot. Fin, Rollins, and Amaro already knew she was pregnant, and it wasn't going to be easy to hide from everyone else much longer. And she knew she wasn't performing well on the job anyway…she was either too sick or too tired, and a few times she'd avoided going out in the field even though she should have. "El…" she looked at him seriously. "I'm afraid I can't do this. How the hell am I going to balance my job and two babies?"

He hadn't realized how overwhelmed she was and it made him angry with himself for not being there for her. She needed him. "You're not going to do this by yourself," he promised her. "I'm here, Liv. I'm going to be here…for everything. I promise."

"You said you weren't sure about starting over with a family again, El," she reminded him. "This baby doesn't change that. I know you want to do the right thing, but I can't live my life knowing you were pushed into something you never wanted."

"I am not being pushing into this," he insisted. "I want this…I want to do this with you. We're a family. This is our baby…"

"What about Noah?" she asked sadly. "He's my son, El…but he's not yours. I don't ever want him to feel like he isn't as special as this baby…like he isn't loved as much. He means everything to me…" she cried, relieved to finally have expressed her deepest fear.

"Don't cry," he brushed away her tears and kissed her softly. "Liv, I love Noah. You know that. How could I not love someone who means so much to you? We are both going to love him every bit as much as this baby…I promise you that. And I think he's going to love being a big brother."

"Really?" she sniffled and tried to stop crying. "El…I'm so scared."

"I know," he held her close. He was scared too, but he knew this wasn't about him anymore. He had to make things right for her. "I promise everything will be okay," he put his hand back on her stomach and smiled, "What do you say I make you my famous eggs for breakfast? You need to keep your strength up and I'm sure the baby is hungry." He noticed how her face paled and she cringed at the mention of food. "Liv…are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm gonna throw up," she darted out of the room, leaving him sitting on the bed. He stood up and went after her. It was going to be a long day.