Olivia's entire body throbbed. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. Her blood boiled. Her head spun as she tried to digest Brian's words. He's my son. She studied the picture closer and the resemblance was clear as day. Olivia didn't even have to ask Brian if he was sure. She yearned to know more, though, but she was also nervous. Brian said he wasn't cheating on her, and she did believe him when he said that.

"I-I don't understand," Olivia stuttered. Her brain was still processing the fact that Brian had been hiding such pertinent information from her. "Who's the mother? Why would you hide this from me, Brian?" She didn't know what to think or how to react. She wasn't sure if she was even upset. Her temples ached as she suffered from confusion.

"I gotta say, Liv, I think you're asking the wrong questions," Brian responded harshly. She rolled her eyes. She hated when he used that as a response to her questions.

"That's not fair, Brian," Olivia replied bitterly. She stood up and stormed into the kitchen with her empty glass. She filled the glass with tap water as Brian walked behind her.

"You don't know her, Liv," Brian said. "I didn't know Cooper existed until about six weeks ago. I was gonna tell you, Liv, but the time just wasn't right. With all that's been going on, between me working for Internal Affairs, I was afraid you'd freak out. Like you are now."

"I'm not freaking out," Olivia replied softly. She swallowed a sip of water and took a deep breath. "I'm just. . .surprised. You kind of dropped a bombshell on me that I wasn't expecting." She inched closer to Brian and put her hand on his shoulder. "Tell me more. Tell me everything about Cooper."

"Right," Brian sighed, and they went back into the living room and both sat on the couch. Brian turned toward Olivia and explained, "About nine years ago, I met a woman in a bar. I didn't even know her name. I was lonely, and well, you don't need the details of what happened next. Then, six weeks ago this woman showed up at my work. I didn't even recognize her at first, but she recognized my picture in a news article. The one about 12th precinct. She jogged my memory, and then she told me we had a son together. I thought she was crazy at first, and I didn't want to believe he was mine. But then I met him. A father knows his own son, Liv."

"So you've been disappearing for days at a time to spend time with him?" Olivia asked.

He nodded. "That," Brian said, "and there's something else."

"What?" Olivia asked. Olivia's heart rate quickened, and she wondered what else Brian could possibly drop on her now.

"Carin, Cooper's mother, has been diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. The doctors have told her there's nothing else they can do. She's getting worse and has been in the hospital a lot, so I've been going and staying with Coop on their farm in Upstate New York. The first time I went was after Carin crashed her car, with Cooper in the back seat. Luckily, Coop managed to escape with just a scratch on his head. The second time, Carin blacked out in the kitchen and was omitted to the hospital. This last time, she was in a coma for three days. They didn't think she was going to wake up, but she did. But she's extremely weak. Both her parents are dead, and she was an only child. When I'm not there, he's been staying with a neighbor up the street."

Olivia noticed Brian's eyes were shining, like he was holding back tear drops. Olivia's favorite thing about Brian was, even though he tried to come off as a bad ass, he was actually one of the most sensitive guys she knew. The man had a heart of gold. And when he cared about someone, he would do anything to protect them.

Olivia's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. Poor kid."

"The doctors say it's unlikely Carin will make it until the end of the week. Coop's been spending a lot of time with his mother these past few days, to say goodbye," Brian said. "I tried to convince him to come home with me, so I could introduce him to you in person, but he wouldn't leave his mother's bedside. A kid shouldn't have to see his mother like that." Brian shook his head and placed his face in his palms. "And Tucker called me this morning belly-aching. I called in sick to work all last week when I was with Cooper. Tucker threatened to fire me this morning."

"Bri, what are you going to do?" Olivia asked, trying to digest everything she'd just learned. In the back of her mind, she was thinking about the pregnancy test. The baby. She looked at Brian and saw that he had so much on his plate right now. She felt bad. She didn't want to add more to it. She bit her lip.

"I don't know, Liv," Brian whispered. "I don't know what I'm going to do. But I need to be with Coop. I was hoping you'd go with me. I've told him so much about you. He's a good kid, Liv. A good kid who deserves to have a mom and a dad."

Olivia swallowed, knowing what Brian was implying. "What about your job?"

"What about it?" Brian asked. "It's done nothing but cause trouble. If Tucker takes my shield, then he takes it. I guess I'll go back to working at the Bronx Courthouse. I need to be there for this kid, and I'm hoping you'll stand by me. Will you?"

Liv's face froze and her hand lingered over her own stomach. Oh, Bri, she thought. Tears welled in her eyes, and she rested her head against Brian's shoulder. "I'm here for you," she said. "I am."

"Good," Brian said. "Now, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Huh?" Olivia asked, and she thought about the pregnancy test. She thought about the fact that she was carrying his child. And then she thought about Cooper. The little boy who was about to lose his mother. The little boy who'd just met his father. She thought of Brian. Battling his boss and adjusting to being a father. Could he handle knowing that he had another child on the way? Could she handle telling him? It could wait.

"Oh," Olivia said. "I wanted to tell you that I'm giving up alcohol. I don't want to become like my mother, and you were right, it was starting to get a little out of hand, so, uh, I'm quitting drinking. I think I'm going to start going to AA meetings, too."

"That's it?" inquired Brian, lifting an eyebrow. He shrugged. "Well, good. I'm proud of you." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer and pressed his lips against her forehead. "You're really amazing, Liv."

She wished she could believe that.