I haven't made an author's note in a while, so I wanted to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who has left reviews on this story and to tell you how much I appreciate those who have stuck with the story from the beginning. I know it is a long one, but I promise we'll get to the end eventually. Hopefully no one has completely lost interest. There are more twists and turns ahead in future chapters!

"I'm fine…" Olivia sighed as she tried to sit up in bed, putting pillows behind her back. She looked at Fin, who was standing in the doorway staring as she struggled to get comfortable and while she appreciated his concern, she wished he would leave her alone. She'd been embarrassed that morning when he'd insisted on taking her to the doctor. She was tough, and she'd been sure Fin was overreacting by forcing her to call the doctor, but she'd given in just to prove to him that she was fine. A headache and a little queasiness shouldn't have landed her on bed rest, but the fact that it was coupled with high blood pressure and the inability to keep down her breakfast prompted the doctor to test for pre-eclampsia and while the tests were negative, her doctor was still concerned. So now she was stuck in bed, possibly until the baby was born...and she blamed Fin for it. She couldn't be there when Elliot needed her, she couldn't take care of her little boy, and the worst part of everything was that she was completely dependent on others to take care of her. She knew she had to follow the doctor's orders, for the baby's sake, but it wasn't easy. Olivia wasn't one to lay around watching soap operas and doing crossword puzzles. She was going to lose her mind. "You don't have to stand there looking at me," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to climb out the window or anything."

Fin laughed, "I'm not sure you'd fit if you tried."

"Funny…" she snickered. "If you're just gonna stand there and insult me, you can leave. I'm not in the mood to be hovered over anyway."

"Now, now…don't go getting your feelings hurt," he walked over to the bed and smiled.

"It would take a lot more than you calling me fat to hurt my feelings," she insisted, trying unsuccessfully to rub a kink out of her back.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, watching her stretch and fidget. "You need me to help you or something?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine…I swear." She leaned back against the pillows and headboard, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Where's Noah?"

"In his room…playing," Fin told her. "He loves his toy cars. I didn't even know they made them like that…soft ones for babies. The cop car is his favorite. He pushes the buttons over and over."

Olivia smiled, opening her eyes, "Elliot bought it for him." She sighed, "Can you bring him in here…please? I can watch him play…I don't have to leave the bed for that."

Fin nodded, "Okay…I'll get him in a minute. I just came in to tell you I'm going out. I have a date…couldn't get out of it…"

"Of course you should go," Olivia insisted, relieved that he'd finally be out of her hair. "Noah and I will be fine."

"I know you will," he smiled. "Because Amanda is coming over to stay with you tonight."

Olivia's eyes widened and she shook her head, "No…absolutely not. Fin…I can't deal with her tonight…"

"She volunteered," he told her. "And you will deal with her tonight, because you have no choice. Cut her some slack…she's really been trying to clean up her act lately. You've always been too hard on her anyway."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked. "I've always been fair to her."

"No…you haven't…and you know it," Fin reminded her. "I don't know if you felt threatened when she joined the squad because you weren't the only woman anymore…"

"Screw you," Olivia argued. "You know me better than that. I was never jealous of Amanda…and I've never felt threatened by her."

"Well she tried to kiss your ass in the beginning and you blew her off like she was nothing," Fin sighed.

"I have zero respect for suck-ups," Olivia cringed. "And the way she played Cragen was sickening."

"But the way you played him wasn't?" Fin asked.

Olivia looked surprised by the comment, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You and Stabler…getting by with shit no one else could ever get by with. How he kept the two of you together, even when it was blatantly obvious to everyone that you were too close…" Fin replied.

"We were never too close," Olivia insisted.

"Tell that to your baby bump," he motioned toward her hand, gently stroking her stomach.

Olivia shook her head, "You know things are different now. We never…we couldn't…he was married to someone else then. You know I'd never do that."

"You do a lot of things when it comes to him, Liv," Fin said sadly. "He has more control over you than you know."

"No one has control over me, but me," she argued. "And I don't know what you're getting at, but I don't like it…whatever it is. I know Amanda is your partner, and you're close…maybe I haven't been completely fair to her, but she gets herself in trouble and her gambling could have brought down our whole squad…more than once. And I know you and Elliot have never seen eye to eye…but my relationship with him is none of your damn business…and he doesn't control me."

"He hit you," Fin blurted out. "And you never said a word. You let him get by with that!"

Olivia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, "Who told you that?"

"He did," Fin admitted.

"He can't help his outbursts," Olivia tried to hold in her tears. "His brain is damaged…sometimes he loses his impulse control. And besides, he never hit me. He pushed me, and I fell, but he didn't hit me." She remembered him swinging at her a few times when she'd managed to back up in time, but decided not to go into that. "I was fine…the baby was fine…and he's getting better. He hasn't reacted like that in weeks. His brain is healing and he'll be fine. I'm not scared of him…he'd never hurt me on purpose, and I don't ever want you to suggest anything like that again…not ever!"

"His temper has gotten him in trouble more times than I can count," Fin reminded her. "He's always been one to throw a punch now and ask questions later."

"Not with me," Olivia said seriously. "He loves me."

"I'm just worried about you…and about the kids," Fin said honestly. "If he can't control his anger, even if it's not really his fault now, you're not safe. You need to think about that."

"We're fine," Olivia brushed away a few tears that were stinging her eyes. "I appreciate you worrying about us, but I know Elliot and so do you…he would never do something to hurt me or the kids. And if he did…if for some reason he gets to the point that he can't control the angry outbursts because of the brain damage…then I'll do what I need to do to keep my kids safe. You know I wouldn't put them in danger…not even for Elliot…not even if it isn't his fault. You know me better than that…"

Fin nodded, "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to upset you…I don't even know why I brought it up. I wasn't going to…I was just so shocked when he told me and I'm worried about you. I want you to be okay." He forced a smile, "I know you won't let anything happen to Noah or this baby girl…that you wouldn't choose Elliot over them…and I really do hope he gets back to his old self so you can have the little family you've always wanted."

"He will," Olivia sighed. "I know he will." Her cell phone buzzed and she picked it up, looking at the number and smiling, "It's El."

"I'll go wait for Amanda and let you talk," Fin squeezed her shoulder and headed out the door.

"Hello," Olivia answered, the smile still on her face.

"Hey," Elliot's voice was tired. "I miss you," he said.

"I miss you too," Olivia admitted. "I wish I could be there. I hate being trapped in my apartment."

"You just stay in bed and take care of our little girl," he sighed. "She's most important."

"El…why did you tell Fin that you pushed me down?" she asked sadly. "That was none of his business."

"Because it's eating me up inside, Liv," he admitted. "I'll never forgive myself for it and I knew he wouldn't either. You just act like it was no big deal…I needed someone to tell me what an ass I am…someone to put me in my place…"

"You need to forgive yourself," Olivia insisted. "I know you couldn't help it…and you're working so hard to control your emotions now. You're making such good progress."

"But I still did it," he sighed. "And I tried to hit you too. You're pregnant, Liv. I could've hurt you or the baby…"

"But you didn't," Olivia reminded him. "We're both fine." She ran her hand delicately over her stomach. "We both miss you…so much…" she said tearfully.

"I miss you too…and Noah," he said gently. "How's he doing?"

"He's fine," Olivia answered. "He's been playing with his cop car for hours today. He misses you too. God El…I wish you were home. I really want you home…" she couldn't stop her tears any longer.

"I'm trying," he promised. "Don't cry, okay…I'm going to be home soon. I'll be there before the baby's born. Just relax and keep her safe and sound until June…okay?"

Olivia smiled, "You remembered she's due in June?"

"Yeah…I've been working on remembering the important things," Elliot said gently. "I have a calendar, with dates marked and I've been practicing."

"That's a great idea," Olivia was relieved. "It'll help you remember things."

"And Liv…Fin said you were worried…about telling me she has Down syndrome," he said honestly. "I never forgot that. I mean, once I really and truly remembered we were having a baby…I remembered everything about her. I don't want you to think that my injury has affected how I feel about her, Liv. I love her, so much…"

"I know you do," Olivia said tearfully. She couldn't help but wonder what life would be like with her special needs child now that Elliot was possibly going to have disabilities as well. She tried not to worry about the challenge of caring for them both, but she couldn't push the thought out of her mind either.

"We still need to pick her name, right?" Elliot asked. "We didn't choose one that I forgot, did we?"

"No," Olivia said softly. "We need to pick one. What's your favorite?"

"What's your favorite?" he asked teasingly.

"I don't know," Olivia laughed. "I've been through the book a million times. Nothing seems right. I want her name to be special…to mean something…I wish we had someone really special and beautiful to name her after…"

"We could name her Olivia," Elliot said lovingly. "That would be my top vote."

Olivia laughed, "I wasn't fishing for a compliment," she teased. "And I am not naming my daughter after myself."

"Well we'll think of something," Elliot replied. "We have a little time…unless she decides to make her appearance early. Tell her she better stay put until we can figure out her name."

"I'll do my best hold her in," Olivia teased.

"I mean it, Liv." Elliot said seriously. "Listen to the doctor, okay? Take it easy and let people help you. I wish I was there to take care of you myself, but there are other people who want to help. Please let them…for the baby…and for me."

Olivia nodded, "I will…I'll try anyway. I can't stand laying around doing nothing, El. It's not easy."

"I've seen you accomplish tons of things that weren't easy," he reminded her. "You can do this." He sighed, "I have to go. They don't want me on the phone very long. I'll call tomorrow though."

"Okay," Olivia said sadly. "I love you."

"I love you too," Elliot said as he hung up with phone.

Olivia sat her phone on the night stand just as Fin walked back in the room with Noah. "Are you off the phone?" he asked and she nodded. "I thought so…I tried to give you some privacy. Here's your little guy," he sat Noah on the bed next to his mother and he immediately cuddled next to her while she kissed him on the cheek. "Amanda's here…she said she'd give you some space, but you can yell for her if you need anything, okay?"

Olivia nodded, "Yeah…I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Hey…I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier," Fin added. "I shouldn't have said some of what I did."

Olivia ran her fingers through Noah's dark hair and smiled, "We're good Fin, don't worry about it. It's over…"

He winked at her, "Have a good night," he said as he headed out the door.