Chapter 57. Dick Wolf owns.

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He had promised Olivia that he wouldn't let anyone cause her pain again and he was failing miserably at keeping that promise. If all that had happened in just the last four days wasn't proof of that, to top it off, she was now under arrest for defending herself against Harlan. Against a man who spent months terrorizing her and letting others terrorize her. A man thought to be dead but in reality, he was just lying in the wait for his chance to traumatize her all over again and like a blind fool, Elliot let it happen!

He'd sat with her for the longest time after Phillips left; she was a mess, understandably so but he'd done all he could to convince her that he would fix this; now it was time to do it!

Luckily, his time at the FBI had put him in contact with some pretty high ups, it was just a matter of reaching them and making them see, like Agent Austin did, that this was simply a matter of self defense and it needs no prosecution.

"Listen, I need to speak with Summers, it's very important… Yes, could you please have him call me the minute he's available? Yes, Agent Stabler, he has the number." He said and returned the phone to his back pocket.

Damn you Phillips!

He'd gotten her! Not only had he got her, but when the bureau chief took a look at this case, he was sure to be fast tracked for a promotion. He wondered how much he'd be heralded; probably get to play golf with the big guys. Besides, who did that bitch think she was? Women like her, they needed to be knocked down a peg or five in his opinion.

Not fit to lick my boot and she gives 'me' lip? He thought. I would have loved to knock that ass around, I bet she'd straighten up then! And he smiled, snidely and self assuring. "Boy, Lewis sure did a number on her!" He then said to himself under his breath and continued with a grin.

"Where've you been?" Agent Austin asked as he came into the bullpen, surprised to see Agent Phillips since he'd practically disappeared this morning.

"I was taking care of some business!" Phillips smiled, and all too smugly for Austin's taste. But Phillips didn't care and why should he? He was about to get a promotion while Austin… Well Austin would be stuck doing Austin he thought.

Downstairs, Carolyn had just gotten her visitors pass to see Olivia when she headed for the elevators, catching one right as it was about to close.

"Hold it!" She yelled, just in time for Nick to put his hands between the doors, causing them to open and Carolyn to slip through.

"My fault." Nick offered his apology.

"No, you're good. Thanks, by the way!" She smiled, liking what she saw in Nick. She'd always had a thing for the not-so-smooth-around-the-edges, undercover bad boy type, and Nick looked just right.

"You're welcome." He said and kept his eyes forward, except for the split second that he took to steal a peek at her. Tall, brunette, curves in all the right places and legs for days. He could almost picture those legs on his shoulders while he…

"I'm Carolyn… Jeris." She said, extending her hand.

"Nick Amaro."

"Amaro, where have I heard that name before?" She wondered.

"I really can't say, I'm a cop so…"

"That's right, you're a cop! The Carmichael case… I read about it." She said then took on a more somber tone. "I heard about the cop in your unit getting killed; I'm sorry."

"Thanks." He said as the doors opened. "After you." She smiled again, thinking what a gentleman he was as she walked out of the car with him behind her.

"It's good that they caught the guy though, at least some justice can come from this." He gave a simple smirk and she noticed as they walked down the hall that he seemed to be going the same direction as she and got disheartened. "Your wife?" She asked, hoping that he would say no and when he laughed, she knew.

"Uh no, good friend."

"I see" she said, feeling a bit foolish but she stopped anyway. "So, if I were to give you my phone number, would you use it?"

"Would you want me to?" He asked, coyly and when she smiled for the third time, and let off a little laugh she knew that A) she was hooked and, B) this guy would be getting sex in the very, very near future. Very.

"Call me sometime!" She said as she gave him her card and walked off. He stood for a moment watching her go, looking at the print of her ass through the pantsuit she wore, the way it stood even more proudly with the high heels she was wearing and he had to collect himself.

"Lucky Nick!" She heard him and had to fight the grin that wanted so desperately to pull at her features, leaving Nick at the nurses station, stopped by a phone call. "Amaro…"

...

"Everything looks good, her scar is healing nicely. Just see to it that she keeps the strain off it and she should be fine in no time."

"Easier said than done! Doc, I know she's itching to leave this place, when will I be able to take her home?"

"Tell you what, we'll see how she's doing tomorrow and we'll discuss it. In the meantime, see that she gets some rest; you too!" She said then left. Elliot sat back and a few seconds later, someone knocked at the door.

"Come in." He called in a not so loud voice so he wouldn't wake the baby and was surprised to see Carolyn. "Hey, I didn't know you were coming by."

"I thought I'd take a trip." She said, putting her coat and briefcase down in the empty chair by the couch. "Is she…?"

"Bathroom. Did she call you? I didn't…"

"Uh no...I should probably wait for her." She said. So, anything you wanna tell me? Why is there a cop standing outside her door?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Noted. So is this her?" She said, standing over the bassinet with the sleeping baby with a huge smile on her face.

"It is. Meet Serena; no middle name yet." Elliot said proudly. Serena may not have been his biologically but he loved her just like she was and it showed in everything he did.

"She's gorgeous! Hello little angel!" She said ever so softly to Serena so she wouldn't wake her. Just then, Nick entered the room with a knock.

"Everybody decent?" He asked.

"Come on in Nick." Elliot said as Nick entered, surprised to see Carolyn there.

"You two know each other?" Nick said as he entered.

"Uh yeah, this is Olivia's lawyer for the paternity issue. Carolyn Jeris, this is…"

"We met in the elevator." Nick said, while he stared at her. She was beautiful, almost as beautiful as Olivia he thought, but definitely beautiful with her big brown eyes. "I gotta go, emergency but tell Liv I'll see her later." He said, copping a look and wink at Carolyn that Elliot missed; or so he thought before he left just as Olivia came out of the bathroom and Elliot rushed to help her.

"I got you!" Elliot assured her as she walked, painfully over toward bassinet that was by her bed, leaning on him for support.

"If this is what a c-section feels like, no thanks!" She said as she reached her bed and sat on it, checking Serena when she noticed her lawyer standing in the room. "Carolyn"

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." She said softly.

"No it's fine, I'm sorry, I'm not at my best right now..." Olivia said as Serena started to stir and she quickly soothed her back to sleep with her pacifier.

"She's a beauty!"

"Thank you, but, Carolyn; what are you doing here?"

"It's about the paternity test."

"The pa- oh god; the court date was yesterday. I've just been so preoccupied..."

"It's okay. Can we talk privately?" Hearing those words, Olivia got scared and immediately looked to Elliot.

"I don't; I'd rather he stay if that's okay?"

"Are you sure?" She simply nodded and he stopped to kiss her head while it was cupped gently between both his large hands.

"It's alright babe, whatever she tells you, we're okay!" Olivia tried to be strong but, one look at Carolyn and she lost it.

"She's his isn't she? Harlan's her father!" She said looking over at Serena, sleeping so peacefully in her bassinet. Olivia tried hard to stop her tears but they wouldn't relent and just rolled down her face. God Serena! She wasn't aware of any of the mess going on around her and Olivia wished that she herself could be so innocent because right now, she just wanted to take herself, Elliot and her daughter and just lock them all in a cocoon.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Olivia…"

"It's okay." She said quietly and in tears; more reserved than she felt. "I always knew she-"

"Olivia; she's Brian's." Carolyn said, stunning both Olivia and Elliot!

"She's-" She said and looked at Serena and then Elliot with shock on her face before she dropped her head and began openly sobbing.

The only thing worse than the predicament that Brian was in was Joanie not allowing Olivia to see him, especially now. Olivia didn't know just how bad he had gotten but to hear Joanie tell it, he'd be fine.

"Oh look" She said to him, reading from the latest tabloid. "Kim Kardashian and that Kanye are getting divorced!"" She said to him. "Apparently, "she's pregnant with President Obama's triplets" and "Michelle has no idea!" Good lord! What kind of mess?!" She sighed and fingered Brian's hair at his forehead.

"It's gotten so long." She said of his hair. "...just like when you were little." A slight, sad laugh escaped her before she continued to rake it through it with her fingers. "I know you always hated it long but I won't cut it until you wake up...I know you'll wake up" she said, her voice dropping. "You have to, you're all I have left!" then just as quickly, she thought of the baby and smiled.

"I already had her lawyer served…" Joanie said as she sat by Brian's bedside. "Of course, I haven't seen the baby yet but I know she's beautiful… I just… Why couldn't you find a nice girl to settle down with? That Amanda, she could've been the one for you, you know. But it's not too late, once you're awake, and you have your daughter maybe you and she can raise her. She'd be a hell of a better mother than the slut she has!"

She'd been on her knees now, back and forth for the last fifteen minutes throwing up over and over again and she felt like dying as yet another mouthful gushed out of her and into the toilet.

"Damn you, Darrell!" She said, gasping through her tears. She felt like she was tossing up her insides as the vomit fell from her lips. She finally knew that she was finished and fell back against the wall with her hand to her stomach, too weak to move as she shut the lid of the bowl and flushed.

"Amanda, are you alright?" Darrell's mom asked from the other side of the door.

"I'm fine, Eugenia!" Amanda answered weakly as she dry heaved then felt another gush coming though she tried to fight it but it was no use and she was quickly on her knees, tossing the lid up in just enough time.

Worried when she heard her retching through the door, Eugenia right away came into the bathroom to see Amanda hunched over the toilet and spilling her guts.

"Oh… Amanda!" She said as she got down and held her hair back, stroking her forehead. "It's alright, let it out!" She spoke softly in her motherly tone. Even with Darrell being gone and her heart breaking, she still found the time to be so caring to Amanda. When she was finished, Eugenia shut the lid and helped her to sit down.

"I can't do this!" Amanda cried.

"You can't do what?" Eugenia asked, blotting Amanda's face with a cool cloth. "Honey, what is it?"

"I- I'm pregnant!" Amanda said as her tears fell and I don't know if I can do it without Darrell!"

"Do you know what you're gonna do?" Elliot asked Olivia as she sat feeding the baby. It had been a few hours since Carolyn had told her the news and Olivia seemed melancholy instead of what he would have imagined as happy at hearing the news.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, now that you know Brian's her father."

"I always thought that Harlan…" She tried again to stop her tears to no avail. "I didn't give birth to a monsters child, she's free of him El!" She cried quietly as she looked down at Serena and stroked her face.

"She always was Liv, your love would've made sure of it!" He said, watching them as Olivia's tears continued.

"Her middle name should be Cassidy." She said. A thought crossing her mind.

"Bronwyn she's your sister- oh god! I'm begging you...for her; PLEASE!"

"I think he'd like that. But you know, you could have his mother to sign..."

"No, I don't want woman anywhere near my child!" She said calmly. Elliot smiled inside, feeling so wrong for being happy that Serena wouldn't have Brian's last name. He was worried that if she did Olivia maybe wouldn't want to change it one day when they got married- and there he was again, thinking too far in the future. But when he looked at them he couldn't see anything else; Olivia and Serena were it. He already loved her like she was his own and even now that they knew Brian was her father and Olivia would undoubtedly want Serena to know about him, the fact of the matter was, she was Elliot's little girl and he would raise her and love her just as he'd done Maureen, Kathleen, Richard and Elizabeth; even Eli.

"I just keep thinking about the custody suit… What if Carolyn can't win? With everything that's going on, Elliot I can't lose Serena, she's my baby; she needs me just as much as I need her!"

"Look at me; you are not going to lose her, okay? You put that out of your mind, just like I want you to put the arrest out of your mind. I promise you, nobody is gonna separate you two!" He kissed her "Nobody will separate us three!" He said as he held Serena's little foot and kissed Olivia's nose before he claimed her lips in a quick but sweet kiss to which she almost smiled. A brief moment passing before she spoke.

"El, can you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"I need to see Bronwyn."

Probably like 3 more chapters and it's a wrap! In the meantime, how about a review?