A/N: I know I said that these chapters aren't usually connected, but I wanted a follow up to chapter 27, so here's a part 2, kinda. Hope you like it :)

Just Us

Ok, maybe Carisi was right. Maybe she could've needed an extra set of hands tonight. Maybe she should've listened when he insisted on having someone come over to assist. Maybe she shouldn't have been so stubborn, acting offended when he (very gently and very kindly), told her that two kids and a dog might be too much to handle this close to her due date.

"It's one night." She told him, scoffing. "And it's your aunt, of course you have to go."

(Bad timing on Aunt Elena's part to pass away this week of all weeks, but she didn't say that out loud.)

"You sure you don't wanna call your mom?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"If I do that, you'll end up prosecuting your own wife for killing your mother-in-law." She joked. "How are you gonna fit that into your busy schedule as a daddy of three?"

Finally, a smile, a kiss, and him continuing packing his overnight bag, while she watched him from her designated spot in their bed. The spot that now had a literal imprint of her ass from all the hours she'd spent there over the last three weeks.

The same spot she's now sinking into, exhaling slowly, as if the simple act of breathing is some kind of silent reward for finally getting her two girls to bed without too much fuzz. (Because at this point, it's considered a win if only two out of three Rollins girls end up crying.)

So no, she's not happy when she hears the buzzer. Not happy at all, actually. And as she lifts herself up and moves down the hallway, she curses whoever has the audacity to show up at her door at 9 pm, cursing again when she opens it, only to find Olivia.

"He called you, didn't he?" She says.

Attempting an innocent smile and doing that thing with her face that she does when she's not telling the truth, Olivia shifts, shaking her head. "No?"

"Liar." Amanda mumbles, pointing an accusing finger at the brunette. "You're both liars."

But she holds the door open nonetheless, begrudgingly gesturing Olivia into her apartment.

"Can't you just accept that we love and care about you?" Olivia says while removing her jacket, kicking off her shoes.

"Yeah, yeah." Amanda responds, muttering the words as she moves, guiding them back to her bedroom.

The thing is, she's not mad. Not really. She's just so tired. And tired of being tired. And then there's this constant throb in her lower back that makes it impossible to sit or stand without feeling like her lower half is on fire. So, guest or not, Olivia will just have to accept that if they're having a slumber party, there's gonna be a whole lot of slumber, and less party.

"Can I get you anything?" Olivia asks, moving to help Amanda when she once again settles in bed, surrounded by a heap of pillows and blankets. "Did you eat?"

"Can you get me a time machine so I can go back and force my husband to get a vasectomy?" She jokes (kinda), smiling tiredly at the other woman.

Laughing and giving the blonde a sympathetic hum, Olivia moves to the other side, stretching her legs out and resting her back against the headboard. "That bad, huh?"

"Not great." Amanda sighs, patting her belly, feeling a hint of guilt for being so grumpy, but not really, because fuck this.

Turns out, Carisi was right. It does bring her some comfort having Olivia here. Especially when Billie wakes up from a nightmare, and instead of having to start the process of dragging herself out of bed again, Olivia has the situation and Billie's chaotic emotions under control in less than fifteen minutes. And then there's the soup that Olivia brings her. And the conversations that almost, almost makes her forget how miserable she's feeling.

"Hey-" She starts, placing her empty bowl on the bedside table. "I haven't even asked you what happened with Stabler after our date?"

Caught off guard, Olivia clears her throat, suddenly looking like she doesn't quite know what to do with her hands. "Maybe you forgot because you ended up in the hospital that night?"

Waving the other woman off, Amanda scoffs. "You make it sound so dramatic." She says. "It was just a false alarm."

"Uhm-" Olivia responds, eyes wide. "A false alarm that resulted in mandatory bed rest."

"Yeah, about that-" Amanda says, eyeing the brunette before glancing at her baby bump. "You still want me back in the squad room?"

"Are you crazy?" Olivia chuckles. "Of course I want you back. I thought that was already decided."

"I'm just saying." The blonde shrugs, chewing on her lip, fighting the tears that are now quickly and unexpectedly welling up in her eyes. "Two kids and a newborn-"

And then, she cries in earnest, unable to stop what feels like a flood, all of these bottled up feelings that she's been trying to suppress for months. Feelings she didn't even know she had. Feelings about giving birth again, about raising three children, about doing all of that, post forty.

"Hey-" Olivia says, her voice soft as she moves to get closer. "Hey, Amanda, look at me, what's going on?"

"Nothing." She mumbles, sniffling as she covers her face with her hands, holding them there for a moment before they fall down limply against the sheets. "I think I'm just really overwhelmed. I don't know how I'm supposed to do-" Here, she gestures at her belly, and then around the room. "This."

"Ok-" Olivia says, sitting herself up to face the blonde. "Remember when you had Billie?"

Her expression suddenly blank, Amanda looks to the woman on her bed. "No, Liv-" She says dryly. "I've completely forgotten about the birth of my second child."

"I meant after." Olivia says, her response equally dry.

"Ugh, yeah-" She groans, scrunching her nose. "Not my finest moment. Or, moments. Sorry about that."

"Are you kidding me?" The other woman smiles. "Those months… When you stayed with me and Noah. It was-"

"What?" Amanda asks when Olivia stops talking, suddenly looking a little emotional herself.

"No, just-" Olivia mumbles, shaking her head. "Having you and the girls there, helping you with Billie… It was just a really nice time. Crazy, but nice."

"It was." Amanda agrees, smiling before she raises a suggestive eyebrow. "I especially liked my last night before I moved out."

There's a sudden moment of silence between them then; Amanda unable to hold back a teasing grin, Olivia looking dumbfounded, her cheeks showing a hint of red.

"Thought we said we'd never talk about that night ever again." Olivia says, her eyes moving to the empty space between them.

"I just said it was a good night, that's all." Amanda shrugs, her grin widening when their eyes finally meet.

"It was pretty good." The brunette smiles.

It was a good night. Fantastic actually.

Because listen, sometimes, while watching a movie with your temporary roommate, you fall asleep on the couch. And sometimes you wake up a few hours later, disoriented, but so comfortable. And the only thing that makes sense is to snuggle up with the person next to you. Sometimes that leads to a kiss, and before you have time to fully grasp what's going on, you're in her lap, coming against her hand.

Was it maybe caused by some postpartum hormones, a moment of weakness, a consequence of more or less living together as a couple for four months, without the added bonus of intimacy? Maybe.

Or maybe they had both just gone through the longest dry spell of their sexual lives and an easy opportunity presented itself.

Either way, it was one of those "ok, this happened, and when we wake up tomorrow morning we'll act like it didn't" kinda things. Which they did.

Until now, apparently.

"My point-" Olivia starts, moving on from their brief trip down memory lane, "is that you got through it. You didn't think you could, but you did. And this time you have Carisi-" Grabbing Amanda's hand, she moves closer, "and you still have me. You're not doing this alone."

"Thank you." Amanda whispers, looking down at their joint hands, making a mental note to thank Carisi for ignoring her stubbornness and asking Olivia to come over. Because at least she feels marginally better, about everything.

That is, until she feels a familiar pressure low in her stomach.

"Ugh-" She groans, moving to get out of bed. "Need to pee again." Halfway across the floor, she halts however, turning to look at Olivia with suspicion in her eyes. "Wait, you didn't answer my question."

"Hm?" The brunette responds, confused.

"What happened with Stabler?" Amanda asks, continuing her journey towards the bathroom, leaving the door open. (Because at thirty eight weeks pregnant, there's really no room for modesty anymore.) "Did you talk?"

"Uhm-" She hears from her bedroom, immediately catching the tone, that tone in Olivia's voice.

"Olivia Margaret Benson." She calls out sternly, seated on the toilet, and suddenly not so sure if this pressure is pee, or something else.

Hesitantly, the other woman responds, "we talked."

"And?" Amanda asks, her eyes now squeezed shut as she reaches for her lower back, a futile attempt to rub the ache away.

"And kissed." She hears, in the same moment as something pops.

"Oh, fuck-"

"Hey-" Olivia calls out, sounding mildly offended. "I thought that you wanted-"

"No, it's not that-" Amanda says, looking down between her legs, caught somewhere between confusion and shock. "I'm happy for you, go you, hope it was fantastic, but-"

"But what?"

"My water just broke."

In what feels like the blink of an eye, Olivia is rushing through the door, looking at the blonde with both surprise and concern.

"What?"

"It can't happen now-" Amanda says, shaking her head, tears in her eyes. "Carisi needs to be here. It's his kid."

"We'll call him, ok, from the car." Kneeling down in front of her, Olivia's voice softens as she grabs Amanda's hands. "We'll call him, and he'll be here as soon as he can. But unless you want to end up like one of those women who give birth in the toilet, we need to get you to the hospital."

Everything happens in a hurry then; Getting dressed, calling the nanny, calling the hospital, the frantic and disorganized way Amanda tries to pack a bag, only to remember that of course Carisi has prepared a designated hospital bag that is already sitting in their closet. Kissing her girls goodbye without waking them up, not wanting to scare them late at night. And by the time they're seated in Olivia's car, she's not even sure she's in labor anymore. Maybe this is a false alarm, too?

Except, it's not. And deep down, she knows it. After all, this is her third time. She knows all too well what a contraction feels like. Like this one, causing her to groan and writhe in her seat just as Olivia presses the dial button.

Picking up almost immediately, Carisi's voice fills the car. "Liv?" He says. "Everything ok?"

"Everything's fine-" Olivia responds, managing to keep her tone calm as her eyes move from the road to the woman sitting next to her. "But-"

"What?" He asks, clearly worried.

"My water broke." Amanda says, catching her breath. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, shit-" Carisi whispers, clearing his throat. "Ok, Amanda, I'll be there as soon as I can, ok? Are you on your way to the hospital?"

"We're in the car-" Olivia answers. "She's doing great."

"She's lying." Amanda says, gritting her teeth.

"Amanda, listen to me-" Carisi says. "I love you, and I'll be there soon. You got this, ok?"

"Ok-" Amanda mumbles, eyes closed as she keeps rubbing her belly, a few tears rolling down on her chin.

"And Liv?" Carisi says.

Reaching over to grab Amanda's hand, giving the blonde a reassuring smile, Olivia responds, "I'm not leaving her."

Two hours and one epidural later, the situation has somewhat settled. Except, of course, for the fact that Carisi is stuck at an airport in Charlotte, with three hours to go before his plane to New York is finally ready for take off. There is that.

But at least she's not writhing in pain anymore, more or less comfortable in her bed, the doctor assuring her that there's still time, and that her main job right now is to breathe and relax.

And at least she's not alone.

"Tell me about the kiss." Amanda mumbles around the ice chips in her mouth.

"Now?" Olivia asks.

"I'm in labor, and my husband is six hundred miles away." She shrugs. "Distract me."

Shifting in her chair, the brunette shrugs too. "It was… nice."

"Wow." Amanda responds, deadpanned. "You're really gonna make me work for this, huh?"

"What do you want me to say?" Olivia argues, laughing nervously.

"Everything!" The blonde exclaims, gesturing towards the other woman. "Did he touch you? Who kissed who?" Here, she lowers her voice, as if someone might be listening in on their conversation. "Was there tongue?"

Sighing heavily, Olivia leans back, defeated, smiling carefully. "A little, he kissed me, and yes."

"Did you touch him?" Amanda asks, eyes wide.

"Not… Not really."

"Well, how do you feel about it?"

With a frustrated groan, Olivia lifts herself up, crossing the floor where she starts to pace.

"I don't know, Amanda-" She says, throwing her arms out. "It was good, ok? Really good. Like, almost invited him in good. It was perfect." Catching Amanda's grin, she stops pacing, resting her hands at the end of the hospital bed. "But I don't know when I'll see him again. He might change his mind-"

"Liv-" Amanda interrupts. "He kissed Olivia Benson. He's probably still recovering. He's not gonna change his mind."

Unable to fight her reaction, Olivia chuckles, moving back to her chair, exhaling slowly when she sits down, her smile slowly replaced with a sad expression.

"I just want him back."

"I know." The other woman nods, reaching out a hand for Olivia to grab.

"What happened to us, huh?" The brunette says, giving Amanda's hand a squeeze before letting go and gesturing between them. "When did we turn into these kinds of women?"

"You wanna run away and start over?" Amanda jokes. "Marry me and raise our kids up in the mountains somewhere?"

"Please-" Olivia laughs. "We wouldn't last a month up in the mountains."

"Hey-" The blonde protests. "I'm a nature girl at heart."

"No, I meant because we'd literally kill each other."

"Oh-" Amanda laughs. "That's true."

As much as she appreciates the banter and the company, it doesn't take long before Amanda drifts off and succumbs to sleep, barely waking up the three times a nurse comes in to check her vitals. Meanwhile, Olivia stays seated, keeping her promise to Carisi, her eyes heavy but focused on the woman in front of her.

So focused, that when Carisi enters the door, it takes her a moment to realize that he's not another nurse, but Amanda's husband.

"Hey-" He whispers, giving Olivia a grateful smile as he moves quietly towards the bed where he leans down to gently press his lips against his wife's forehead. "How is she?" He asks, running his hand over the spot he just kissed.

"She's fine." Olivia responds, suppressing a yawn. "Just tired."

"So are you-" He says, removing his coat before sinking down in the empty chair opposite of the brunette. "You should go home and get some rest. It's been a long night."

Eyes moving back to a very peaceful looking Amanda, she nods, but stays seated. "I'd like to stay." She mumbles. "If you don't mind."

And so, she stays. Witnessing the tear jerking moment when Amanda wakes up and sees her husband sitting next to her bed. And when they FaceTime their girls. And up until the point where a doctor announces that it's time to push.

She moves herself to the waiting area then, knowing she has no real reason to worry, but pacing still, jumping when the phone in her hand suddenly vibrates.

"Hey-" She hears on the other end, and running on little to no sleep, it takes her a moment to realize who's calling.

"El?" She asks, confused. "Did something happen?"

"No?" He responds, confused too. And that's when her eyes land on the clock in front of her, making her brain catch up to why he's calling her now.

"It's Tuesday morning." She says, more to herself, than him. Their agreement. Their time. Every Tuesday morning, he calls, no matter what. From an unknown number and an unknown location.

"Everything ok?" He asks.

"I'm in the hospital-" She says, and only when the words are out there does she realize how that might sound, so she quickly adds, "Amanda is having her baby."

"Liv-" He chuckles lightly, clearly relieved. "That's great. How is she?"

"She's good." She smiles. "Carisi was with family in Charlotte, but he made it, and he's in there with her now, probably sweating more than her."

"I can relate." Elliot says, laughing again.

And just like that, their time is up. Because this is what she gets these days; Two short minutes. But at least it's something. It's more than nothing.

"I have some news-" He says, interrupting her goodbye. "I might be back sooner than expected."

She falls silent for a moment, eyes closed as she fights the urge to get her hopes up. "Define sooner."

"Maybe next week-" He says, and she feels it in her chest, and the rest of her body. "I'll find a way to let you know, ok?"

"Ok." She whispers, turning around in the same moment as a very happy, slightly pale looking ADA moves towards her. "I have to go, but, El-"

"I know-" He mumbles, and she can hear the smile in his voice, can hear everything that she is feeling too. "I know."

Hanging up, she shifts her attention to Carisi, now standing a few feet away, grinning like a kid.

"It's a boy." He says, tears in his eyes, a choked laugh escaping him when she moves to wrap her arms around him.

"Carisi-" She says, crying silently on his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you."

"Wanna meet him?" He says when she lets him go, getting only a bright smile in return.

"Hey-" Amanda says when they enter the room, her eyes tired but bright, head resting against the pillows, gently rocking the newborn in her arms. "You're still here."

"Of course-" Olivia responds, placing a hand on her chest as she moves closer.

"Wanna hold your godson?" Amanda asks, her voice hoarse but soft, shifting to move the baby boy from her arms and into Olivia's.

"Oh my god-" The brunette whispers, the world around her briefly dissolving as her eyes land on the child now safely cradled in her embrace. "Hi-" She says, smiling through her tears. "Carisi, he looks just like you."

"You think so?" Carisi asks, the pride in his voice tangible.

"Yeah-" Olivia laughs. "That's a Carisi chin right there." She keeps her eyes on the baby for a long moment, bouncing lightly and running a finger over his delicate features. "Does he have a name yet?" She asks, looking at Carisi first and then to Amanda, noticing the way the two of them share a knowing look.

"He does." Carisi confirms, smiling at his wife, moving to run a gentle hand through her hair.

"Dominick Oliver Carisi." Amanda says, grinning when she catches Olivia's reaction; Mouth agape, tears welling.

"Amanda-" Olivia whispers, unable to move or say anything else.

"Family." Amanda says, eyes shifting from her son, to the woman holding him.

Inhaling slowly, Olivia looks to the ceiling as a single tear escapes, rolling down on her chin, nodding when she looks at Amanda again. "Family."