Hello all! Thanks for the awesome reviews. There are new people following this story now too, which surprised me so far in. It's nice to know people are still reading and enjoying it in spite of my ridiculously long time between posts. I swear one of these days I will find time to write and end up with more than one post a week. I'm just dealing with some things that seem to take priority over my fanfic writing...like my kid's college interview this week, and shopping for prom, and meetings at work, and doing my job. You know...all those things that get in the way of the joy of writing. Too bad I can't dedicate 24 hours a day to fanfic writing and still survive in my real life. Such a dilemma.

Luckily I am feeling better...unfortunately I have still not healed from my sinus surgery and have to go in for another scan to see why my nose is running like a sieve. I stand by my original comment that having that surgery was the WORST mistake I've made and I do not recommend it to anyone. Off topic...but needed to be said.

Anyway, enough of my drama. Here's Liv and El's drama instead. Super-short this time...sorry. I think this is the shortest chapter of the fic, but still a lot happens. Enjoy it anyway, please. :)

April 30, 2015 4:45PM

Elliot was carrying Noah back and forth across the room, trying to ease his crying, but nothing was working. The baby was frustrated being stuck at the hospital and nothing seemed to calm his tears. "Where is Cragen?" he groaned, sitting down in the chair by Olivia's bed and rocking the little boy, patting his back gently.

"He'll be here," Olivia assured him. "Let me try…he's probably scared up here…he was fine when he was sleeping here with me earlier."

Elliot shook his head, "Liv…you need to rest. You should be sleeping after all you've been through."

"I can't rest with him screaming," she reminded him, reaching for the baby but stopping with a short gasp at the onset of her latest contraction. "Damn…" she sputtered, rubbing her hand over the swell of her stomach and trying to breathe through it.

"Honey?" Elliot looked at her trying to get through the contraction and his pulse was racing with nerves. They really should have stopped by now. "Take my hand," he offered it to her, situating Noah in his other arm but she shook her head no. "Liv…"

"I'm fine," she exhaled. "It's not that bad…I swear…" The fear on her face was proof her words were nothing more than a lie. "I wish they'd take me down for the ultrasound. I want to see with my own eyes that the babies are okay."

"I know," Elliot sighed. "But we need to get Noah home first. He's just going to keep fussing."

"Maybe he's hungry," Olivia suggested. "What time is it?"

"Almost five…Where is Cragen?" Elliot asked again, sitting Noah in his stroller and buckling him in while the baby continued to cry. Then he pulled a cup of Cheerios from the diaper bag and sprinkled a few on the stroller tray and the baby took a short break from his tantrum to shove the cereal in his mouth.

"Elliot…" Olivia's voice quivered and he turned to look at her. "I feel dizzy…"

He stood up and brushed her hair out of her face, "It's from the medicine honey," he said gently. "The doctor said it might make you dizzy or nauseous. What can I do?"

She shook her head, "Nothing…" she sighed. "Unless you can stop the room from spinning…"

There was a knock at the door and they both turned to see Don Cragen standing in the doorway. "Am I interrupting?" he asked, stepping unsurely into the room.

"No…of course not," Elliot said walking over and shaking his hand, "Thank you…so much for doing this. I don't know what we'd do…"

Don nodded, "It's okay. I want to…" he looked at Noah eating his Cheerios and smiled at the boy's chubby, tear-stained cheeks, "Is someone in a grouchy mood?" he asked.

"He wants to go home," Olivia said, closing her eyes to keep the room from spinning.

Don stood and walked over to her, but she didn't open her eyes, "What about Liv and the twins?" he turned to Elliot.

"We're fine," Olivia insisted.

"She's feeling lightheaded," Elliot explained. "From the meds they gave her to stop the contractions. We're heading down for an ultrasound in a while to check on the twins."

"I guess I should get this little one home then," Don said, grabbing Noah's stroller. "Do you want me to stay with him at your place or take him to mine?"

"He'll do better at my apartment," Olivia said, opening her eyes briefly before closing them again. "Do you mind?"

"No…not at all," Don said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "You take it easy and don't worry. I'll take good care of him."

She nodded knowingly. "El…give him the keys…"

Elliot dug through her bag looking for the apartment keys, finally pulling them out and handing them over, "Thanks again for doing this," he said, walking them to the door.

Don leaned in and whispered, "Is she really okay?"

Elliot shrugged, "She's still having contractions, but she says they're not strong. I'm worried…"

"Keep me posted," he said. "And be strong for her…she needs to be able to depend on you now…"

"I know…" Elliot said, kneeling down and kissing Noah good-bye.

April 30, 2015 6:00 PM

"You doing okay?" Elliot asked, standing at the side of the bed while the ultrasound tech squirted cold gel on his wife's belly. The twins still weren't moving much and he knew Olivia was afraid.

"I just want to see them," she said tearfully.

"Me too," he admitted.

The room filled with the swishing sound of the babies' heartbeats and they both turned to look at the screen. "They look great," the tech assured them. "Strong heartbeats, a little movement…"

"Why can't I feel them moving much then?" Olivia asked anxiously.

"Probably because of the contractions," the woman answered. "Some babies don't move during labor because it's pretty intense and there isn't a lot of room when the uterus is clamped down."

"But they would move after the contractions, right?" she asked. "I barely feel anything but flutters and they've been rolling around to where you can see it from the outside before now."

The ultrasound tech laughed a little, "They will again…they're just tired. The contractions wear them out too…it's probably a little scary in there…"

"Really?" she asked tearfully. "I don't want them to be afraid…"

"They're fine, Liv," Elliot promised. "See…they look good honey. They're okay…"

The tech smiled, "Do you know the genders yet? I can tell you…"

"We know one is a boy," Elliot said with a grin. "The other one never cooperates." He laughed, "Stubborn like her mother…"

"He thinks it's a girl," Olivia said with a weak smile.

"Would you like to know?" the tech asked, "Because I have a pretty good view of them both."

"Really?" Olivia asked with excitement. She looked at Elliot, "Do you want to know? I know you wanted it to be a surprise…but if we find out we can plan…think of some names…"

He laughed, "My wife wants to know…so I guess I do too."

The tech laughed and pointed to the screen, "See right here…this is your little boy…" she said and then she moved the transducer across Olivia's stomach to get a better look at the other baby. "And this…"she pointed, "is his twin brother…"

"What?" Elliot asked in surprise. "Are you serious? It's a boy…"

She nodded, "Two little boys…perfectly healthy…"

Olivia's eyes filled with tears and she couldn't hold back her sobs. Elliot leaned over, hugging her close, "It's okay honey…" he said gently. "Are you upset that you're not getting a little girl?"

She shook her head, "No…of course not…" she sniffled. "I'm happy…I'm so glad they're both okay…"

"Me too," he leaned forward, kissing her gently. "I can't wait to meet them…but they need to hold on a while longer."

She nodded, "You're sure they're fine?" she asked the tech and the woman smiled and nodded. Olivia looked at Elliot and couldn't help but laugh through her tears, "What are we going to name them?" she asked. "I'm gonna have a house full of boys." She said in disbelief.

Elliot laughed, "You'll have no trouble keeping us all in line," he teased. "And I'll try to teach them to put the toilet seat down."

"El…I'm glad you're here," she said seriously. "I couldn't do this on my own…even though I thought I could…"

"You could," he assured her. "There's no doubt in my mind that you could do it yourself…but I'm glad I'm here too."

April 30, 2015 8:00PM

Olivia flipped through the channels on the television, waiting for Elliot to come back. He'd left a while ago, telling her he needed to call Kathy to check on Eli and call home to check on Noah, but it felt like he was never coming back. She was tired and alone, and while she was grateful the contractions seemed to have officially stopped, her stomach was sore and she still felt weak and dizzy. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't want to be alone. She let the TV stop on an old sitcom and stared ahead at the screen as one silly scenario after another played out before her eyes, but she wasn't focused on it. She kept thinking about the ultrasound…seeing those two little boys on the screen…knowing they were depending on her for everything. She loved them with every ounce of her being and all she wanted was to protect them.

"Hey…" Elliot smiled from the doorway and she turned to look at him. "You look deep in thought. Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Olivia nodded and forced a weak smile. "How's Eli…how's Noah?"

"Both good…Eli said to tell you he hopes you feel better and to tell his baby brothers he loves them," he smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed. "And Don said Noah cried for a while, but settled down and now he's asleep." He put his hand on her stomach and rubbed gently, "How are our boys?"

"Moving more," Olivia smiled. "And they're starving…"

"You didn't eat your dinner when they brought it," he reminded her.

"I felt queasy then," she sighed. "Besides…that slop didn't look like dinner…"

"Slop?" Elliot laughed. "I think we've got two spoiled kids on our hands. They only like gourmet meals now?"

"Not gourmet…but identifiable at least," Olivia sighed.

"If you tell me they want pizza and chocolate milk…" Elliot began but she interrupted him.

"That sounds amazing," she smiled.

Elliot rolled his eyes, "At least you've had one consistent craving throughout the whole pregnancy." He leaned forward and kissed her, "I'll go get it…"

"No…I mean…go get it later," she said seriously. "I want you to sit with me for a while."

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" he asked.

She nodded, "I feel fine…no contractions…" she shrugged. "I just feel…scared."

"Why…" Elliot asked anxiously. "Liv, the twins are fine. You saw that with your own eyes."

"I know…but…" her eyes filled with tears and she brushed them away.

"But what?" Elliot asked. "What's going on?"

She shook her head, "I'm not ready for them." She admitted. "They were almost born today, Elliot…and I don't have names for them…I don't have room for them in the apartment…they don't have clothes or toys or anything…"

"Well they weren't born today," he reminded her. "And we have plenty of time." He could tell she wasn't going to accept that though. "As soon as you're home, we can start looking for a bigger place, okay? I'll get online look for a house…or an apartment…"

"Elliot, we can't afford a house," she sniffled. "And with you in DC and me here…I'm not sure we can afford an apartment."

"You want me to move back from DC?" he asked with a knowing nod. "Liv…I don't know…"

She shook her head, "You can't quit your job. I know that." She looked down at her stomach and cringed, "They're moving a lot…it hurts…"

"Contractions?" he asked worried.

She shook her head, "No…just things are kind of sore and tight from the ones earlier. I'm glad they're moving though." She grabbed his hand and put it on her belly just in time for him to feel a sharp kick.

Elliot's eyes lit up, "That's my boy…" he laughed. He knelt close to her stomach and spoke softly, "Take it easy on Mommy. She's had a hard day." Then he felt a jab from the other side of her belly and laughed, "They are ornery…we're gonna have our hands full."

"El…what if Noah and I moved to DC with you?" Olivia asked. "I'm gonna be on bedrest…and I can't work anyway…"

Elliot's eyes widened. "Honey…I would love that…but I'm not home much. I'm always undercover…we don't have any friends or family there to help you." He sighed, "And my apartment there is smaller than the one here."

She nodded, "I don't know what I'm thinking…I just…I want to do things right for these babies…and for Noah. I want to give them a good life, Elliot."

"You will," he promised. "We will…"

She reached over to the stand by her bed grabbing her glasses and putting them on before picking up a paperback book and opening it. "The nurse brought me this," she said, holding it up so he could see the title, 1001 Baby Names. "Let's name them…"

"Now?" Elliot asked with a chuckle. "Right now?"

She nodded, "Pick a letter…" she laughed.

"O," he said with a grin. "Because I want to name one of them Oliver after you."

"No…" she shook her head with a laugh. "No way…"

"Why not?" he asked. "I like Oliver."

She shook her head and flipped to the letter O, "How about Owen?"

"Owen and Oliver…I like them," he winked.

"Oh God El…no Oliver," she sighed. "I'm picking a new letter. How about H?"

"How about I go get your pizza and you get some ideas and we'll talk about it when I get back," he stood up and kissed her once more. "I can't have these boys starving, you know. They've become accustomed to eating whenever they want."

Olivia laughed, "What about Henry?" she asked. "I like that one…"

"Henry and Oliver…" Elliot nodded with a sly grin. "I can get on board with that."

Olivia laughed, "Just go get the damn pizza…and don't forget the chocolate milk."

Elliot knelt forward, kissing her belly softly, "Daddy will be back with your dinner soon," he said. "Love you…" then he stood up and smiled, kissing his wife on the lips, "And I love you too…"

"We love you too, El," she said, flipping through the book, unable to hide the grin on her face.

More coming...sometime soon I hope...