"It was nice of Maureen to keep Noah," Olivia said as Elliot climbed into bed next to her. "I feel bad ruining their plans for our wedding celebration," she sighed. "I wish I wasn't so tired, and I look like a whale on our wedding day," she glanced down at her pink maternity pajamas. "We can't even have a sexy honeymoon…"

"You didn't ruin anything," Elliot said, pulling a cheeseburger out of his fast food bag and removing the paper wrapper. "They're gonna eat lunch and hang out at the house watching movies or something. Besides, you should be resting. We had a big day…Mrs. Stabler, and you look perfect to me. Besides, I've had too much going on today anyway. I have a bad headache, so I am happy to spend our wedding night here sleeping or going through the baby name book again…whatever you want to do," He kissed her and put his hand on her stomach, feeling her body cringe at his touch and looking worried, "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "You never flinch when I touch you."

"My skin burns," she sighed. "It's just so tight and I feel like my stretch marks are gonna split open." She looked at him take a bite of his burger, "Are you gonna eat that…in here?" she asked, as her face paled.

"I was going to," he looked serious. "Is something wrong, Liv? You're scaring me."

She shook her head, "I don't feel so good," she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I feel sick…looking at you eating that…"

"Okay…" he threw the burger back in the bag and sat the bag on the nightstand. "Do you want some tea? I can make you some. Maybe that'll help." He offered, hoping he could manage to make the tea without creating a mess.

She shook her head, "No…I can still smell the burger," she grimaced. "Can you take it out of here…please?" she begged, trying to control her nausea.

Elliot stood up unsteadily from the bed, grabbing his bag and clutching his walker, walking slowly out of the room. When he made his way back, Olivia was standing by the bed, her face contorted in pain. "Liv…" he asked nervously. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "My back hurts…I wanted to sleep, but it hurts so much and I can't relax," she closed her eyes as the pain overtook her once more. "El…I think…" she stopped talking and looked down as a puddle formed on the floor beneath her, "Oh my God…"

He looked at her, standing there in complete fear and he had never felt as panicked as he did in that moment, "Oh God…" he knew he wasn't helping, watching her huddled in pain while the amniotic fluid continued to gush out of her body in a way he'd never seen in spite of having five children. "Why is there so much?" he asked, confused and trying to regain control of his thoughts and emotions.

"Elliot…" Olivia cried. "Call 911…the doctor said it was dangerous for my water to break, remember? He said to call 911…" She felt dizzy, like she might pass out from the pain and clutched the nightstand trying to hold herself up. "El…please help me…" she sobbed.

His head was spinning, pounding with the familiar agony of his stress headaches. He couldn't think straight and he grabbed the phone, trying to find the words he needed to make the call. He was going to fail his wife and child when they needed him most, and he'd never forgive himself for it. "What should I say?" he asked, embarrassed that he didn't know how to take control of the situation, but Olivia was in too much pain from her latest contraction to answer him. He dialed and waited for the dispatcher to answer. "We need help," he sputtered into the phone. "My wife is having a baby…"

"Tell them about the fluid…that the doctor is afraid it could cause a cord prolapse," Olivia let out a deep breath as her contraction came to an end. "Give me the phone…" she reached for it, her arms shaking and he handed it to her. She gave the 911 operator all the details and listened while the woman gave her instructions to follow to help keep the baby safe. "She says for me to get on my hands and knees and breathe through the contractions until the paramedics get here," Olivia cried. "She said the position will keep the cord in place until they can examine me."

Elliot looked at her, unsure of what he should do or how he could even help, "Give me your hands," he said, "And I'll help you get down on the floor."

"I'm not sure you can," Olivia admitted. "I don't think you can support my weight for that long," she gasped as another contraction engulfed her body and she tried to breathe through it.

"Squeeze my hand," Elliot held his hand out to her, but she didn't take it. She was bent forward, clutching the nightstand instead and he wished he could do something to make her more comfortable. She needed his help and he wasn't giving it. He put his hand on her back, rubbing gently, "You're doing great…" he tried to encourage her. "Hang in there…the ambulance will be here soon."

"El…" she let out a deep breath and looked at him, "Why am I having so many contractions? Aren't they supposed to start out slow? I'm scared something's wrong…"

"I think you've been having them for a while," Elliot said honestly. "I wish I'd realized how bad your back pains really were. I'm pretty sure they were contractions."

"I've been having them since last night," Olivia cried. "Oh God…this is my fault. I should have known…"

"You've never had a baby before," he took her hand and squeezed it tight. "You didn't know…" He took her other hand, holding her steady, "Okay…let's get you lowered to the floor. I can hold you steady…I know I can."

Her body shook as she lowered herself slowly to her knees, then she put her hands out in front of her to support her weight, and she felt the pressure lighten which gave her a little relief, "I feel ridiculous," she cried. "No pregnant woman should have to endure labor like this…"

Elliot carefully moved himself to the floor and sat beside her, rubbing her back as best he could, but he felt weak and he knew he wasn't helping much, "The paramedics will be here soon, Liv. Then we can go to the hospital…" he sighed, trying to refocus, "then everything will be better."

"I'm all wet," she cried. "I should change my clothes…"

"You don't need to change your clothes," he tried to comfort her, but his head was pounding and he was afraid it wouldn't be long before he was unable to think clearly. "Liv…you know I love you, right? No matter what happens…I love you…" He closed his eyes, trying to control the pain he was feeling.

"El…" she gasped, "Are you okay?" Another contraction took hold of her, and she couldn't think of anything other than getting through it. When it finally ended, she looked at him, slumped against the wall and reached for him, "Elliot…" she cried. "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer her and she was scared. He'd been under too much stress with the events of the day, and her going into labor was the last straw. "Elliot…" she cried, praying he was going to wake up, but fearing the worst. She wasn't sure if he'd blacked out from his stress headache or if he'd had a stroke or something worse. As much pain as she was in, Elliot's overall health was worse and she knew it. She could hear the paramedics, pounding on the door, and she thought about trying to crawl into the living room to let them in, but she was in too much pain to move, "Help…" she screamed, hoping they would hear her. "Please…help us!" She cried. "Please…"

I still plan to finish by early next week. There are probably 3-4 more chapters. I'm working on them now. Thanks for reading. :)