Thanks again for all the kind reviews. I greatly appreciate the time people take to leave their thoughts on the story. To the person who said they were having a hard time sticking with it because it is repetitive and losing momentum, I am doing the best I can to keep it fresh and it is almost to the end, so I hope you'll keep giving it a chance, but if you feel this story is no longer of interest to you then I understand if you want to stop reading. I appreciate everyone on the site for giving this story a chance. It is my first SVU fic, and I am sure it has need for improvement, but I also recognize how amazing it is to have over 1,000 reviews and such wonderful and supportive comments from so many. So thank you so much, and I still plan to finish this by the S16 premier...so wish me luck! :)

A few days later Olivia was in bed, flipping through the channels on the television and while she was glad to be back home in her own bed, she felt tired and sore and really wished she could get up and do something. She could hear everyone in the other room, talking and laughing and she wondered if they even remembered her all alone in the bedroom, but then there was a knock at the door and she called out "Come in…" and smiled when Nick pushed open the door and peeked his head inside.

"How're you holding up in here?" he asked, pulling the bassinet in behind him.

"I'm okay," she sighed.

"Where do you want this?" he asked, and she pointed to the side of the bed.

"It looks beautiful," she felt herself tear up and quickly wiped away the tears. "It's perfect…thank you."

He smiled, "Don't thank me," he said quickly. "Elliot and Cragen put this together a few days ago. It was sitting in the living room when I got here."

"I can't believe I didn't notice," she said, running her finger along the soft white lace and shimmering pink ribbon on her daughter's new bed.

"Well, I think you've had your mind on other things," Nick reminded her. "Speaking of which…how's the baby doing?"

"She's okay," Olivia tried to shift into a sitting position and he reached out to help her. "I think she's gonna be here pretty soon."

"Really?" he asked. "Are you having contractions?"

She shook her head, "No…I didn't mean she's coming now…just soon. I feel like it's gonna be soon." She ran her hand over her stomach, "I just hope she'll be healthy…that she won't be too small or have heart and lung issues."

"You've made it to thirty-five weeks," he reminded her. "That's pretty good. I'm sure she'll be fine. You said in the beginning that your doctor didn't think you'd make it this far."

She nodded knowingly, thinking back to the day her doctor told her she was pregnant and suggested she not go through with the pregnancy. She'd been so nervous and confused that she'd considered it for about half a minute before deciding she wanted this baby in spite of all the unknown challenges. "I'm glad we proved her wrong," she said with a deep sigh, "This little girl is a fighter…"

"So are you," he winked at her and walked toward the door. "I should get back out there. Fin and Cragen are trying to put Noah's toddler bed together. Elliot is showing us where you want all the furniture, but that is a tiny bedroom for two kids, Liv."

"I know," she said. "But we're gonna keep the baby in here for a while and let Noah stay in the crib. I appreciate you all helping," she said gently. "Elliot really wishes he could do all of this himself. It's hard for him to watch the rest of you do what he wants to do for our kids."

"Well, he's a lucky guy," Nick said sincerely. "He has you…and you love him no matter what."

"I'm lucky too," she smiled.

Hours later, Olivia was asleep when Elliot came into the room, sitting his walker beside the bed and crawling in beside her. She moaned softly and her face tensed up, even though she was still asleep and he stared at her. He didn't want to wake her, but he was worried and when she pressed her hand against her stomach and gave another aching sigh he leaned over and touched her gently. "Liv…" he whispered. "Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes and her voice was tired, "What?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"You were moaning," he said. "Are you alright?"

"The baby…" she said groggily. She put her hand to her side and pushed gently, "She's right here…right in this spot. It hurts…but it's just how she's laying. I'm okay."

"You sure?" he asked, placing his hand on the spot she was pressing and smiling, "Is that her foot?" he asked.

"I think so," she nodded. "I wish she'd move a little."

"She will," he rubbed his hand over her stomach. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I was just worried you were having contractions."

"El…I don't think I'd be able to sleep through those," she laughed. "How'd everything go tonight? Is the nursery done?"

"All done," he sighed. "The gang really pulled together for us Liv."

"I know they did," she nodded.

"You know, I wish I could've done this myself," he said seriously. "That toddler bed came in a million pieces and I swear I couldn't figure out where any of them went."

"El, it's okay," she squeezed his hand. "It's fine to ask for help sometimes."

"Says the person who never asks for help," he snickered.

"That's not true," she insisted. "Not anymore. This whole experience…it's changed me. I couldn't have made it through any of this without everyone's help. The squad…your kids…mostly you," she smiled. "I love you."

He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips, "I love you too," he whispered.

"El…" she said softly. "Earlier…I was thinking about the day I found out I was carrying this baby…I was so scared."

"I know," he nodded. "I was too…you know that…"

"I know…but the doctor told me I shouldn't have her and I guess I never really considered that, but I was so scared to tell you because I knew you were still hurting over Kathleen and that you didn't want to be a father again…"

"Liv," he interrupted her. "I thought we were past this. You know I want this baby."

"I know you do," she said honestly. "But…I wonder sometimes, do you think we'd be where we are right now if I hadn't gotten pregnant?"

"You are overthinking things," he said with a sigh. "We're getting married next week, Olivia…we are adopting Noah…without this baby, we'd be right where we are except you'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable," he put his hand back on her stomach and smiled. "But I don't want to think about where we'd be without her…because I can't imagine us not having her. I love her."

"When you woke up from your coma," she said softly, not sure if she should bring up what she was thinking, but feeling like it was finally time to get everything out in the open. "You thought it was a couple of years ago…and you asked if you'd tried to kill yourself…"

"I did?" his face paled and he turned away from her.

"You said Kathleen died, and you wanted to die too," she said sadly.

"Liv…" he didn't know what to say. He'd been depressed when Kathleen had died and he had considered taking his own life, but something had stopped him. He didn't want her to know how much those memories still plagued him.

"El…" she continued. "I just want you to know…that I'm so grateful you didn't do it," she cried. "Because I can't imagine life without you. And I know how much you still miss Kathleen…how much you always, always will…but if you ever feel like that again, I hope you'll tell me."

"Honey…" he put his arms around her and let her lean her head on his chest, "I don't want you to worry about this now. You don't need more stress…and if this has been bothering you for the past few months, I wish you'd have said something."

"I think about all sorts of things laying around all day," she sniffled. "And lately…I'm just scared and I worry about you, and Noah, and the baby…I worry about Eli feeling left out…and the older kids not being a part of things. I worry about what I would do if I really and truly lost you…"

"You won't lose me, Liv," he promised. "And you don't need to worry about us…our whole family is going to be fine." He smiled, "You know…when I told Maureen you were pregnant…she told me she thought Kathleen sent us this baby as a peace offering…a way to help all of us become stronger and happier…a way to say she loves us, all the way from Heaven. I've been clinging to that…every single day…"

"Really?" she asked tearfully. "That's beautiful."

"Yeah…" he kissed her once more. "We're gonna be okay…all of us."

"I hope so," she smiled weakly.

"Speaking of all of us," he smiled. "I talked to Lizzie and Dickie this afternoon…and they are coming up Wednesday night so they can be there Thursday morning for the adoption hearing and the wedding…and Kathy is going to keep Eli home from school that morning so Maureen can pick him up. It'll be a full house up there in family court."

She laughed, "I just hope I'm there," she exhaled slowly, pressing her hand against her side once more, "I feel like she's ready to come soon."

"Hang in there little girl," Elliot kissed her stomach softly, "We need another couple of weeks."

"I hope she listens to her daddy," Olivia teased.

"Of course she'll listen to her daddy," he smiled, "She's gonna be a daddy's girl you know."

"Oh really?" Olivia laughed. "And how do you know that?"

"Because…I'm going to spoil her rotten," he smiled and kissed her once more, "You need to get back to sleep. I really am sorry I woke you up."

"I'm glad you did. I needed this…this time to just talk…" she snuggled down next to him and he wrapped her in his arms and they both fell asleep.