WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN FROM HERE ON... I have no idea where this is headed and i have no idea what this chapter was about... i rambled. Im sorry, it feels a little disappointing... but its late again and I didnt proof read so if you see any mistakes no you didnt. what do u think, leave me a comment etc etc


"Wow…." Olivia breathed out deeply as the pulled up in the driveway.

"Wow," Trevor nodded. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"Mmmm…" she thought for a second, "I don't know… I feel weird… like, shocked Trevor, I'm really shocked because my body doesn't feel any different."

"You said you felt off the other day?," he remembered.

"Oh yeah… something set my stomach off," she thought for a moment before she glanced at him, "Oh right yeah, it was cream cheese, I was making Lexi a cream cheese on toast and the smell of it made me want to hurl."

Trevor glanced at her, she seemed a little paled by the news. He caressed her hair and gave her a weak smile. "It must be pretty early days, huh?"

She nodded, appreciating his affection. His fingers smoothed the soft skin around the frame of her face. "I'll take care of you," he promised, "through your whole pregnancy, I'll take really good care of you. You'll want for absolutely nothing."

She managed a smile. "Thanks…" Once the smile dispersed she looked ahead at the beautiful two storey home.

"Liv, talk to me, you seem upset about this?"

"I'm not upset—" she paused, "well, maybe I'm a little upset— but I think I'm shocked — it's all so unknown."

"Do like the idea of having a baby, Liv?" Trevor started to feel a little disappointed by her reaction, but he was trying to understand where she was coming from.

"It's jus the last thing I expected to happen," she replied, her shoulders dropping. "I'm really tired with Lexi, we still are in the middle of an adjustment period and I'm happy with that, but I'm really tired."

"Did you think that maybe you're really tired because you're pregnant?"

"No…" her voice trailed off with the realisation that the kind of tired she'd never felt before. "Maybe you're right." She turned back to him, feeling his hand find hers. "I'm sorry, I know you want to be overjoyed, I'm sorry that I'm not quite there yet. I think I need to talk to Noah first. I want him to be okay with it, if he is okay with it, I think I'll feel better about it."

"Okay, that's fair. Its okay that you're not quite there, it's a lot and its not my body that its going to happen to; but sweetheart, whatever I can do, I'll try to make it easier on you, whatever you need. You've always, always wanted to have a baby and you tried and tried with Elliot—" he paused. She understood, his face fell upon the realization that she wasn't as willing to have a child with him as she was with Elliot.

"Oh…" his voice trailed.

"No," she said quickly, "no Trevor," she grabbed on to his hand with both of hers. "Baby, its nothing to do with Elliot. I was just at a different point in my life and felt mentally equipped to handle it. Three months ago I didn't think that I'd have an almost two year old. I didn't think that I'd have to wait til my son was 14… knowing what I know now, Trevor, you are going to be a better father than Elliot ever could have been to Noah and Lexi — you already are."

"But?"

"But nothing. I love you endlessly, nothing will change that, but I'm scared - I'm allowed to be scared, right?"

"Yes," he relented. "What do you want to do? Do you want to go inside and see everyone or do you want me to take you somewhere til Noah gets back from the Yale game?"

"Lexi is inside… we better go in, we can't rely on your Mom…"

"Sweetie," Trevor began, "my Mom would be so happy to look after Lexi, you know that, if you want to just get away for a few hours to talk yourself through it, we can…"

She considered it.

"What if… we went to baby shop and had a look around, just for a fun venture - we could pick up an outfit or something for Lexi and see how you feel about looking at newborn stuff?"

Olivia studied his face for a moment and recognised that he was trying painstakingly to warm her up to the idea of having a life forming inside of her. "Okay…" she agreed. "But can you run in and make sure that your Mom is okay with that?"

"I'll call her," he replied. He messed around with his phone for a moment and pressed call. After a few moments his Mom answered and he could hear Lexi crying.

"Hey Mom, what's happening? Is Lexi okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, she's just having some feelings-"

"Let's go inside," Olivia whispered. Trevor nodded at her, agreeing.

"We'll be inside in a sec, Lexi might just be worried we're not coming back, she has a little anxiety around us leaving her alone." He ended the conversation and hung up.

"Fuck, I feel awful, we shouldn't have left her," Olivia sighed, "your poor Mom…"

"No its okay, Liv, I know its hard but we can't be around her every second of the day and every time we come back we're increasing her trust," he pointed out, but he could tell Olivia was in a downcast mood so he didn't want to push anything. She deserved the time to process her own feelings.

She got out of the car first. He tried to catch up with her but she was faster. She got to the door and let herself in, letting him trail behind. Trevor came in after her.

"Honey its okay, Mama's here…" Olivia told Lexi soothingly, looking up at Georgie and summoning up her best smile. "I'm so sorry, Georgie, we should have known better than to leave her for so long, she's not used to being away from us."

"Oh, its okay, she wasn't crying the whole time," she replied, sensing Olivia's protective mode take over. She saw Trevor standing behind her, watching Olivia with a strange look on his face. She knew something was going on between them.

Lexi sobbed against her body, wrapping her tiny limbs around her. Trevor made his way closer, caressing her curls, her skin was hot from crying so hard. He planted a kiss upon her scalp. "Its okay, sweetie, we came back," he told her, "we always come back…"

Olivia bounced her gently, trying to soothe her.

"Want me to take her?" Trevor offered.

"No, it's okay," Olivia replied a little bluntly.

"Guys, it's okay, we've all looked after babies before," Raia pointed out, emerging from the kitchen with some fruit in a bowl. "She was just crying because she realised you guys left, it's no big deal-"

"No one is saying you don't know how to look after a baby," Trevor told her, knowing Olivia would have been irate with the casualness of which Raia's comment came. "But… we need to be mindful of what Lexi came from before she came to us," he replied gently, "so it might not be a big deal, but it's somewhat of a deal for her…"

"Thanks for looking after her while we did our errands," Olivia murmured, thankful that Lexi had started to calm down. She took a seat on the couch and drew the little one away from her. "You don't have to cry, sweetheart," she smiled at the toddler, brushing her tears from her face.

There was distinct tension in the room and Trevor began to feel bad. Raia took the girls down the hall to play and left a bowl of fruit for Lexi. Georgie stared for a moment before turning her back and walking out.

"Fuck, Liv," Trevor hissed, "that was really rude," he shook his head with frustration, "I know you're worried about Lexi, but my Mom and sister aren't total idiots, they know how to soothe a crying child, you basically ripped her out of my Mom's arms and barely spoke to them."

Olivia looked up at him. It was the first time he seemed slightly angry with her. She looked back at Lexi. She wanted to tell him that she didn't care; but she did care. She didn't want to be rude to Georgie and she hadn't meant to treat her as if she were incapable. She let out a deep breath, she knew her frustration wasn't with the fact that Lexi had been crying, but her predicament.

"She's just so attached-" Olivia finally spoke, "we shouldn't have left her— she wasn't ready."

"No Liv, you weren't ready, Lexi will be fine. She would have had a cry and if she didn't wasn't consolable, Mom would have called us…. She's a Mom too, she's also a two time grandparent."

"I know…" her voice trailed.

Olivia stood up. "Sweetie, Daddy is going to take you now, okay? He's going to give you a cuddle and then we're going to have some yummy fruit for lunch."

Trevor held his arms out, expecting Olivia to go upstairs and lock herself away, but she surprised him and followed the direction of his mother in to the kitchen. She found Georgie making herself a coffee. "Hey Georgie…"

"Hi Liv, is she okay? I'm sorry I just-"

"No, no, I'm sorry," she said quickly, "you didn't do anything wrong, you were being a stellar grandmother like I know that you are. I'm just—" she looked at Trevor's Mom and felt her eyes filling with tears before she even had the chance to blink them back. Georgie quickly pulled a chair out for her daughter-in-law. She put the coffee cup down and took a seat, next to Olivia. She reached for Liv's hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"I'm overwhelmed," she finally admitted.

"Its okay to be overwhelmed— you're adjusting back to being a Mom of a toddler again and you skipped that first year or two which can sometimes make things just that little bit easier for bonding reasons."

"I feel good about my relationship with her," Olivia clarified, "I just…" she tried to pinpoint what she wanted to say, "I'm always just so scared of burdening other people with my responsibilities and I'm terrible at asking for help and feel so guilty about her not being with us."

"Is your Mom around, Liv?"

She shook her head and wiped a stray tear. "No, she passed," she admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

Olivia shook her head and shrugged, "its fine."

"Can I tell you that as a Grandma, I don't ever feel that taking my grandkids on is a burden. You have no reason to feel guilty. It sounds like she's been through a lot."

"I won't even let Trevor see the full extent of the medical report," Olivia replied, "he just knows facts and that's all he needs to know, but I'm possibly too overprotective, but I want her to feel safe with her aunt and her grandparents and so I'm sorry I took her from you like that, I've just had a rough morning and I'm not feeling very well."

"Oh its okay, Liv, you don't have to apologise."

"No, I do, that was just so rude of me and I've been kind of a jerk to Trevor all morning too. It's me, it's my fault. I don't feel well and I'm very tired and maybe I'm just a bit run down."

"Why don't you leave Lexi downstairs with Trevor and the other girls and have some time to yourself?" She suggested.

"Yeah, I might need a little lay down," she agreed, "but first I want to apologise to Raia."

"I don't think you need to," Georgie told her.

"I think I do… I don't want her to think I'm going to be difficult to deal with. Thank you for being so understanding. If you want to take Lexi off Trevor, please do, Georgie, I do trust you."

"Thanks Olivia, but its okay, you go rest." She pushed her chair back and gave Trevor's partner a warm hug. She could feel Olivia shaking a little and wondered what had gone on. She watched her disappear down the hall to apologise to Raia.

/

"So what happened with Liv?" Raia asked, "did you guys have a fight?"

"No, Liv just got some news that she wasn't expecting and she's just processing it." He saw Raia's face, "oh calm down," he rolled his eyes, "its not bad news, it's just something private she wasn't expecting to hear today and she is feeling anxious. She'll be fine."

"Should we be concerned? Or is this something she does all the time?"

"No!" Trevor snapped, "its something big to her and I'm sure if she feels like you should know, she will tell you."

They watched their Mom on the floor with all three girls playing with a giant mess of toys. "We were gonna go back out but when we called and Lexi was crying, Liv just freaked out, something triggered her off, so…"

"I get it, I get that protective feeling and I have to remember that she doesn't know us super well yet."

Trevor nodded, "don't hold it against her, she felt really bad."

"I don't hold it against her, I'm just worried about her," Raia told him. "Did you end up getting those blocks for Lexi?"

"Nah, I remembered there were some here," he lied.

/

Noah walked in to the house in front of Patrick wearing a Yale cap and t-shirt which made Raia and Trevor both laugh. "Dad… you brain washed him!" Trevor remarked. "Noah, you don't have to wear that."

"Yes I do," he shrugged, "I liked the team, they're scrappy underdogs, like me, right? The ones you never see coming," he smiled.

"Oh, the confidence, I like it!" Trevor replied with a smile in return. "Did they win or lose badly?"

"They won, Trevor," Patrick told his son testily, "we can't all be NYU."

Trevor laughed again. "No that's right, not everyone can be the best," he teased.

"Where's Mom?" Noah asked, looking around. "And Lexi?"

"Mom wasn't feeling a hundred percent so she's upstairs sleeping and I just put Lex down for a nap on your bed… but actually, I need you to come upstairs with me, Mom wanted you to let her know when you got back."

"Okay," he agreed, a little worried about his Mom. He turned to Patrick, "Thanks for taking me to the game, Grandpa, I had an amazing time, it was really the best."

Patrick gave him a little hug, "anytime, if you want to go to any game and your Dad can't take you, I'll take you, you just let me know."

Noah beamed at him, "thanks…"

"Come on, stop brainwashing my kid," Trevor intervened with a laugh, knowing how happy Noah was.

/

"Honey, Noah is back…" Trevor gently woke Olivia who slept soundly in a t-shirt and pajama pants in bed. She opened her eyes and saw Noah. She stretched and let herself adjust for a moment, suddenly remembering exactly why they were waking her up. She was instantly nervous.

"Hey babe how was your game?"

"Good," he replied, "what's wrong Mom? You look sad."

"I'm not sad, Trevor and I just have something to tell you," she began, sitting up.

Noah sat on the edge of the bed. "Wait, is everything okay with Lexi? We're not filing for adoption are we?"

"No, we are," Trevor said quickly, "everything is fine with Lexi, just… let Mom speak."

Olivia leaned forward, rubbing her eyes. She yawned. She took Noah's hand. "Honey, I really hope that you understand that- this might not be ideal for you or Lexi at this stage and this might be a really big adjustment but Trevor and I found out today that I'm expecting a baby."

"What!" Noah exclaimed, "What do you mean?!" His eyes widened in shock as he looked from his Mom to Trevor. "Like, as in you're giving birth to a baby?"

She couldn't help but to chuckle, "I mean, it's gotta come out somehow…"

"What!," he exclaimed again, "wow!"

They both let him silently stew on the idea for a moment. Olivia felt so tense, her stomach clenching. She started to realise all of the strange little things she had been enduring were pregnancy pains. She really just was the worst for listening to her body.

"Tell me, what do you think? I just want you to be happy and I'm-"

"I'm happy!" Noah exclaimed with a grin, "I'm really happy, Mom, you have always wanted a baby and I've always wanted siblings and I just got one and I'm so happy and proud to be a brother and an actual newborn baby!," he grinned, "like, a tiny little sleeping baby that we get to bring home… that's really exciting!" He looked at Trevor, "and you get to be biological parents too—"

"Biology doesn't matter, Noah you know that—"

"It doesn't matter, no, but it's just going to be a different experience," he smiled.

Trevor smiled, "Yeah but no amount of biology will ever have us treating you or Lexi less or even more, we really need to emphasise that, our love is always equal."

"I know," Noah shrugged, "because you are both great parents and I think its great and I am excited. Have you known for long?"

"This morning… I was a little scared to tell you."

Noah smiled. "I'm happy for you and I'm glad its happening now when you're with the right person."

Noah scooted forward and gave them both a hug. "Congratulations, you should celebrate."

Trevor was happy to see that Olivia was finally grinning. "Its still early honey, anything can go wrong, even my age can make it a risk."

"But a life is a life regardless of how long it lasts and I know there's contention about life form in pregnancy," he rolled his eyes, "but you should at least celebrate with family because regardless of what happens, they'll support you."

"I think that's a great idea, look at you my little baby all smart and mature, I hate that you're getting older so fast."

Noah smiled at her, "me too, sometimes. I miss my Mom cuddles and being little and getting everything I want all the time," he chuckled.

Trevor laughed.

"You're never too old for Mom cuddles, I will always insist on that, but now you get Dad cuddles and sibling cuddles…"

Noah smiled contentedly and drew in a deep breath. "Girl or boy? What do you think?" He shot at Trevor.

"I don't know… I have a feeling it'll be a girl, girls seem to be prevalent in my family."

"I think boy but I don't really care. If I have two girls and one big boy, that's fine, if I have two boys, they'll be the best and most beautiful boys that I've ever been blessed with," she smiled.

Trevor could see her mood turning now that she knew Noah was excited. He understood that Noah was her main concern- that there was too much change going on and maybe he wouldn't take it well.

"Mom was really worried you might be angry or upset," Trevor prompted him.

"Are you kidding?" Noah grinned at his Mom, opening up his arms and engulfing her in a warm cuddle. "You're giving me everything I want Mom, I love you, you're actually crazy if you genuinely thought I'd be upset…"

Olivia hugged her son back. "Its just a bit of a scary thought for me, I'm nearly 40 and … I'm gonna be a Mom to a two tiny babies."

"I know! And its all you wanted except now its just happening with the best guy! I'm so happy."

Olivia looked at Trevor over his shoulder and smiled tearfully. "So what? Are we all okay with this right now?" He asked, "Is everyone above board? Our family is gonna be a family of five?"

Olivia laughed, kissing Noah's temple. "I guess so…"

"Well then I better get in on this…" he pulled Noah's Yale cap off his head and tossed it aside, "Yuck, get that off," he joked, hugging them both. He kissed Olivia's forehead and kissed Noah's. "I love you guys."

"I love you too," Liv replied.

"Me too," Noah added.

Trevor let go of both of them and Olivia released Noah, caressing his curls and giving him her best smile. "You make me so happy babe, thank you for being so open and such a great brother already, you've really made this adjustment so seamless…. I don't know what this next step is going to be like, but it helps to know that you and Trevor are with me on this journey."

Noah smiled. "Love you, Mom."

"I told Mom we'll take care of her through this, pregnancy might be a breeze or it might be rough, but whatever happens, we're here to help, right?"

"Right," Noah smiled.

"Thank you both… I guess now we start to celebrate."

"Are we gonna tell everyone downstairs?" Noah asked.

"Mmmm maybe, what do you think Trev? Do you want to wait?"

"No, I think we should tell our family. You should tell Amanda and Sonny too, they're your family."

She nodded.

"I can't wait to see everyone's face!" Noah exclaimed with a grin. "Grandma and Grandpa are gonna be so shocked, but I think they'll love it, they were so excited to meet Lexi." Noah exclaimed, "And Grandma 'Fina is gonna just tease the heck out of you both, she said from the start you guys were gonna get together and Aunt Amanda kept telling her to back off because I think she was worried about what I would think."

Olivia laughed. "Grandma 'Fina is a wise-ass."

"Okay, but we should really make sure everyone knows that its still early days, anything can happen and we have to wait a good solid 15 or so weeks before we start telling anyone else."

They all agreed.

"But it'll be nice to celebrate with family," Olivia replied, "And Noah is right, our family is here to support us regardless of what happens."

"This is true," Trevor replied.

/

"Weeeee!" Patrick swung Lexi who kept breaking in to fits of giggles. He held her in a superman pose, close to his waist, an arm circled around her, flying her around the living room.

Olivia couldn't help but to grin and laugh each time her baby burst in to new giggles. She had to hand it to Patrick, he did everything he could to make her laugh and she warmed to him the quickest.

"Wow, she really is exhausting," he laughed, bringing her right-way-up. "Aren't you? You are so exhausting, you're making me sleepy!"

Lexi giggled and buried her face against his shoulder.

"Aww you've got cuddles for grandpa!" Olivia smiled, feeling hit by fatigue again.

"Liv, why don't you go hang out with Noah and Trevor down by the pool? Have some time to yourself…whatever you'd like, we've got her and if she gets fussy we can bring her out."

"Yeah?"

"Of course, honey," he smiled, "Georgie was just talking about making some mashed potato and some steak slices for her for dinner, is that okay?"

"Yeah absolutely, or I have baby food pouches in my bag."

"No, I think Grandma wants to make you special food," he smiled at her. He turned back to Liv, "she's so precious, Olivia, you and Trevor have made us so happy… and Noah," he shook his head and smiled as if in disbelief, "what a wonderful kid. I know he was mostly humouring me about Yale today-"

"Oh no he was not, Noah takes everything you and Trevor say as the most important information. He has never had men in his life that he's been able to click with, who are able to give him all of their time like this. His Uncle Sonny is about the closest, but he has two girls and a little boy and also looks after his younger sister and her daughter."

"It's just my pleasure and he's just such a nice, well-mannered, kind hearted boy, you've done such an amazing job at raising him."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I love that he's finally got the courage to look at Trevor as a father-figure. I know it means a lot to both of them and I didn't want to stand in the way of that — not when Trevor and I have a child between us now."

"We were so shocked but in the best way possible…"

Olivia smiled. "Maybe Raia will have another one and your house will be full of lots of little footsteps!"

Patrick laughed, "I don't think so, maybe, but I don't think that's on her cards."

"Well," Liv smiled knowingly to herself, "you sometimes don't plan for these things, they just kind of happen."

"I would love it, but I don't expect it and now I have the best of both worlds. I have three beautiful little girls and a beautiful teen that I can force all of my football and sports knowledge upon," he chuckled.

Olivia laughed, "Oh, Noah is eating it up."

"I promised tomorrow we'll hit the ball around the back yard," he told her.

"Oh, don't let him wear you out, he will… tell him when enough is enough."

"No, it was my suggestion, its so wonderful to be around a teen who doesn't want to be on his phone all the time. The guys that I play poker with all complain about their grandkids who don't want a bar of them and I feel lucky that Noah barely looks at his phone around us."

"Because I've never let him become reliant upon it. He has times he's allowed to look at it and time to talk to his friends and such, but I don't allow my friends to call me or have access to me 24/7, so I expect there to be boundaries for him too, unless its an emergency, he can't always be available. I think its fair."

"I think so too, you've set good boundaries, Liv, you are a wonderful Mom."

"I just think in my experience, too many crimes happen or at least are instigated with social media or text messages or non verbal language and I don't want that for my kids."

"Yeah, a great Mom," Patrick confirmed with a chuckle. "Go on, leave little miss with me and Georgie, you should have some time to yourself while you're here, you and Trevor are still figuring it out but it'll be nice to spend time with him for you."

Olivia got up, her glass of water empty. "Okay, thank you, I appreciate that."

He smiled, accepting a hug from her as she passed. He loved that Trevor's partner was warm and easy to talk to and open. She paused to kiss Lexi. "Have fun with Grandpa! Mama's going to get some bathers on and have a quick swim with Daddy, you can come out too if you get too fussy," she grinned at the toddler, not being able to help placing a hand upon her stomach.

"What time does she normally eat?" Georgie asked, sticking her head in to the living room from the kitchen.

"Uh… usually just before us, but you know what? I think maybe if its okay, she could eat dinner with us tonight, if that's fine with everyone."

"Of course," Georgie smiled. "Patty or myself could bring her down to the pool with you guys in a little bit if you like."

"Sure. If you need me though, please just call out."

/

Olivia looked at Trevor and Noah who were playing catch with a blow up ball. "Hey guys, can I get in on this game?"

"Sure, hop right in baby mama," Trevor winked.

"Ew, don't call her that you creep," Noah made a face, causing Olivia to laugh.

"Is it cold?," she asked, dipping her foot in.

"Only for a second, jump in and I'll warm you up."

Olivia took a few steps back and took a running leap, bombing the space right beside Trevor, causing water to fly up his nose. Noah laughed as she resurface and Trevor coughed up a little water.

She laughed wiping the water from her face.

Trevor grabbed her from the waist and drew her near, kissing her neck. Noah couldn't help but smile fondly at the two people who he considered to be two of the best people in his life.

Olivia jumped on his back, wrapping herself around him. "Noah, now you've got an advantage!" She shouted.

"Thanks Mom!" He hurled the ball at Trevor who simply lifted a hand and caught it without any effort.

"Damn, you're good," Olivia remarked as Trevor threw it back to Noah who launched out of the water and caught it.

Trevor held on to her legs at his side. "Is Lexi okay?"

"Yeah, your Dad is playing with her, she was giggling away like crazy, it was so sweet!"

"Oh nice. Are you ready to tell everyone over dinner?"

"Yeah," Olivia smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck as Noah threw the ball. She pushed his arms down so he couldn't reach it.

"Ha!" Noah laughed, "thanks Mom! I win, Dad you suck!"

Trevor laughed too. Olivia let go of him and let herself fall back under the water to swim beneath the net that divided the pool until she got to Noah's side— the more shallow end. Trevor went after her.

The three of them played around in the pool for awhile until Georgie came down with Patrick, holding on to Lexi who was a little whiny but was excited to spot her family.

"Maaa maaa!" She pointed at Olivia.

"Oh my gosh!" Olivia grinned, "thats' the first time she's said that!"

Trevor was grinning too. She came to the pool's edge, Trevor following her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight and kissing her. Olivia couldn't help but feel the butterflies fill her stomach as she felt his hands, caressing her non-existent belly.

Georgie placed Lexi down and held on to her hands as she walked close to the pool's edge. "Would you like to come in the water with Mama and Dada?" Trevor asked her.

"Me!" Lexi squealed with delight.

Trevor laughed. "Look, Noah is in the water too…"

"I can get her a towel and there's some swim diapers inside," Georgie told them.

"That's okay, she can just have a splash in her birthday suit," Trevor shrugged, "she'll let us know if she needs number two."

"I hope," Olivia added.

"No, she always tells us when she's pooped her diaper." Trevor corrected her. He let go of Olivia and moved beside her, holding his hands out. "Would you like to come in to the water?"

Lexi nodded. "Okay! But you need to let Mommy or Daddy know if you need to go poopy okay?"

She nodded again seriously. Georgie laughed.

"If she poops, Dad, you gotta fish it out…" Noah warned him.

Trevor laughed, "No my dude, that'll be your job as big brother."

"No way, that'll clear Mom and I out so fast, you'll be on your own swimming with a floating turd, have fun!"

Olivia couldn't help but to laugh. She made a face, "thanks for that visual Noah."

Trevor pulled her t-shirt over her head and helped her dress down to her diaper. "Okay! You're about to show your cute little tush!" He grinned at his little girl who he and Olivia had discovered only days earlier, loved to try to run away from them when she was naked. Often she managed to wriggle away and try to make a run for it after bath time or before bath time.

She jumped up and down at the edge of the pool happily while Trevor's Mom took the diaper, balling it up to trash it. "Ready?," he asked.

He picked up Lexi, raising her above the water. "Ready, little naked butt!?"

Lexi giggled as he brought her down in to the water, submerging her to her waist. She shrieked from the cold but began to laugh, kicking her little legs. He copped one to his chest but he didnt mind as he drew her toward his chest, holding on to her tightly.

"Is that nice?" Olivia asked.

Lexi looked in to the water and splashed the surface with her hands. "Me bath!," she told Olivia.

They laughed. "Its a bit big for a bath," she told her, "this is a pool for swimming. Daddy and Noah can teach you how to swim when you're a little bigger."

"Actually, Mom could probably teach her, she used to be a swim instructor, right Mom?"

"What's that sweetheart?" She looked up from the chair that she was sitting on across from her husband.

"You used to teach children to swim, maybe you could teach Lexi when she gets a bit older."

"Older? Its never too early to learn, I taught from six months on and you bet I will teach her. I taught Chloe from six months and she can almost swim on her own now."

"Oh that's amazing, I would love that," Liv remarked.

"We have to do it consistently though, so we just have to figure something out," Georgie explained.

"Okay," Liv smiled.

Olivia was happy to see Patrick taking some photos of his granddaughter and Noah together after Trevor handed her over to him. She was able to feel a little more relaxed about her pregnancy since she knew everyone in her direct family as on board and excited.

She was the first to get out of the pool and took Lexi with her. She sat for a moment and dried off her gorgeous, shivering little girl and warmed her up with the towel. "We might go inside for a shower and get our pyjamas on, is that all good? I can help with dinner, Georgie."

"No, no, that's okay. Raia and Gav and the girls are coming over to eat and between Raia and I we have it covered."

"Okay but you have to let me help some time," Olivia smiled at her as she passed, coaching Lexi to wave and blow kisses.

/

Trevor's leg was bouncing and he was so nervous about the announcement. He waited til everyone was seated with drinks and food. He and Noah exchanged smiles. Noah knew he was nervous too. He slipped an arm around Olivia. She regarded him with a smile and rested her head upon his shoulder.

Lexi didn't last til dinner— the excitement of the afternoon coupled with her swim caught up with her. She ate dinner and fell asleep just before they sat down to their own dinner.

Olivia was tired too, he could tell. He pressed his lips upon her temple and rested his cheek against her head. Just as everyone was about to begin eating, Trevor interjected.

"Guys, before you all start eating, Liv, Noah and I have something we want to share with you guys, if that's okay."

Suddenly everyone's interest was piqued.

"Go ahead, son, what is it?" Georgie pushed him.

"Uh… well, earlier Liv and I got back from going out and things were a little tense because we discovered something that we were a little shocked about— but after talking it out a little this afternoon, I think we're all at a good place with it— right?" Trevor looked to Noah who nodded.

"I think so," Olivia replied, "and by the way, I'm so sorry if I was rude earlier, I just- I was maybe being a bit neurotic."

"Its okay," Raia smiled at her. "So what is it? The suspense is killing us."

"Well…" the news was on the tip of Trevor's tongue, he was anxious about pushing it out in to the abyss. "Olivia is pregnant…"

"What!" Raia gasped, "no way, fuck off!"

"Raia!" Gavin and Patrick admonished her at the same time.

Olivia laughed with embarrassment and buried her face in to Trevor's arm.

"So wait— where does that leave things with Lexi?," his sister wanted to know.

"Exactly as they are," Trevor replied. "We're still going ahead with her adoption and it just means we'll have three kids instead of just two…"

Everyone wow'd and shared their surprise but happiness for them. "Congratulations to you guys, this is so exciting!"

"So how far along are you, Liv?" Raia asked.

"Oh, I don't know… I think it's early - like maybe way too early to be even telling anyone but Trevor and Noah are excited and I am too but— I'm cautious but as Noah pointed out, if we tell our direct family, despite what happens, we'll have support."

"Of course, Noah is right," Patrick smiled.

"So, maybe I'll take you to the hospital with me tomorrow if you like and you can get blood work done and I'll get the results rushed so you can find out roughly how far along you are if you like?"

Olivia exchanged looks with Trevor, "Uh… sure?"

"Wait, you can find that out with blood work?" Trevor asked.

"Come on Trevor, you did a year of pre-med, you know that HCG blood work can measure the HCG levels and determine it on an average. We can't pinpoint a day of conception like maybe you might be able to," she told him making a face and watching his own redden, "but we can get an idea."

"Always the bossy boots," Trevor muttered at Olivia, "Ok that sounds good, thank you, let's do that."

"Do you have any idea at a guess?" Raia asked Liv.

"Can we not? I'm in the room and I'm very uncomfortable with this," Noah half joked, motioning to cover his ears.

"Yeah, not now, don't gross the boy out," Patrick told his daughter. Georgie smiled at them, "thank you both for making us grandparents again, we're very excited."

"We are," Patrick confirmed.

Gavin had already congratulated them both and got up to get Trevor a beer to cheers with him. Olivia understood immediately why he wanted to tell his family. They were all so accepting without any negativity. She knew she would be sleeping well that night.

/

"Don't forget to hold Mom's hand when she gets her bloods done," Noah told Trevor quietly.

"Of course I will, she'll be fine," Trevor smiled at Noah as he got a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"No," Noah stopped him, "Dad, she is so afraid of needles. I'm shocked that she agreed. Once I saw her have a needle and Uncle Fin had to reason with her over it because she didn't want it."

A small smile spread over Trevor's lips. "Wait, so Mom is actually genuinely scared of needles?"

"Terrified," Noah told him.

"Oh that makes sense why she told me this morning she could just wait til we got home rather than bother Raia."

"Its kind of silly considering that she makes me have all my shots and makes it sound like its never a big deal," Noah replied. "Mom's not scared of a lot of things but this is one thing…"

"OKay, thanks for letting me know."

"What are you guys up to?" Olivia asked, coming in to the kitchen.

"Just grabbing some water for the trip to the hospital to get your bloods, Noah is gonna stay here with Grandma and Grandpa and Lexi."

"Oh, I just texted Raia and said not to worry, we'll go when we get back to the city."

"I just texted Raia right now to say see you shortly. I say we go now. I think we should find out exactly how far along you are so we can organise other examinations." He hadn't really texted her but he was about to. He handed Liv the water bottle as he passed her, leaving the kitchen to say goodbye to Lexi and grab his things, "Come on, let's go…" She leaned against the doorway and sighed.

"It'll be okay Mom, it'll be super fast," Noah told her quietly, wrapping his arms around her. She hugged him back.

"Thanks babe," she replied. "Love you."

"Love you," Noah repeated as he let go of her.

/

"Trevor, I really don't want to get my blood drawn," Olivia told him bluntly as they sat, parked at the hospital.

"Why not?," he asked. He pretended not to know, wanting her to tell him herself. "It'll take like… five minutes."

"Because…" her voice trailed off and he could see the genuine tension in her expression.

"Because….?," he pushed. "Do you not want to know how far along you are? So you can maybe organise a 12 scan?"

"I do… I know its dumb but… I really don't like needles."

"Oh," he smiled at her, "It'll be okay, I promise, I will hold your hand and you don't even have to look."

"No but its more than that… it's not the pain, it's," she paused and he realised she was almost in tears. "I don't know, it's so stupid, I just hate needles and I don't want to do it."

"Honey," Trevor began gently, taking her hand. "You're going to need to have blood drawn during this pregnancy for a lot of things. We need to help you get past it, let's go inside and we will tell Raia that you don't like needles and she might be able to suggest something helpful because you know she does this job every day and there's probably dozens of people in the same predicament as you."

She gave a small nod. "What if I get in there and can't go through with it?"

"Do you trust me?," he wondered.

She stared at him for a second and nodded again.

"Good. Trust that I'm going to be there for you and I'll be with you and help you get through it."

"K…"

Trevor got out of the car and went around to the passenger side and opened up her door for her. She reluctantly got out, taking his hand. Once out, he closed the car door behind her and paused for a moment and gave her a little encouraging smile. He caressed her hair, kissing her forehead and then her lips. "I love you, it's okay to be scared. I don't think it's stupid."

"Thanks," she murmured, sliding her arms around him, letting him pull her close for a hug.

She heaved a big sigh and pulled away.

"Have you always been this scared?"

"Mmmm… I remember going to get blood drawn when I was a kid and I was a little scared…" her voice trailed off, "like a normal amount of scared but my Mom had no time for it and I wanted her to hold my hand or comfort me or something and she just…" she shrugged, "she held me down and wrestled with me while the doctor or nurse jabbed me, but then I moved and ruined the blood, the vial spilled, my Mom was furious and I was in so much trouble…"

"Aww love," he pouted. He felt awful for her. It wasn't any wonder she was petrified of getting needles. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay," she gave a laugh, "It was the one thing I was a little neurotic about — the one time I just needed my Mom to have some warmth about her. The doctor doing that blood work had to do it second time and I was forced down by two nurses and my Mom left the room because she was too angry to deal with me…"

"What? She just walked out?"

"Yeah…" Liv shrugged. "Maybe her anger was her own upset with seeing me so frightened, but it didn't help… it actually just intensified my fear. Imagine them getting away with that now? Pinning a 7 year old down to draw blood, telling them that they are being naughty and silly."

"It wouldn't happen and I would never let my kid alone to go through that; frightened or not."

Olivia smiled at him. "Well… there you go… there's one stupid thing about me that you didn't know before."

He took her hand. "Listen, we'll go in and meet Raia and we'll intend on doing the blood but if you can't do it, if it's too much its okay, we'll just keep trying every day if we need to until you can do it."

"Thanks for being such a sweetheart," Olivia felt a little better knowing that no one was going to be forcing her in to anything.

/

"Come with me…" Raia smiled after processing Olivia's details and insurance with the admin at the emergency department.

Olivia glanced at Trevor's sister who was wearing pink nurses scrubs. They followed her past the waiting room through some double doors and in to a cubicle. "So up to you, do you trust me to take your blood or do you want me to get someone from the pathology?"

Olivia glanced at Trevor. "Uh…"

"Ughhh you don't trust me!," there was some irritation from Raia, "Liv, my heart is breaking."

"Don't be silly, its not that," Trevor cut in, "don't be so defensive, Liv is super frightened of needles."

"Ohhh," She grimaced at her own knee-jerk reaction, "sorry, okay, well… I'm really good at drawing blood, I promise," she smiled. "What can I do to make you feel less afraid?"

"Uhh… not take my blood?" Olivia replied, looking a little tense.

Raia smiled at her sister-in-law that she was still slowly getting to know. "Well that's kind of conducive, what about I go and get the things that I need and then we'll talk about it."

"K…" Olivia agreed. Raia figured out pretty fast that it wasn't just a general fear of needles, but one that seemed to be deep and quite genuine. She left her brother and Liv alone for a few moments.

Trevor turned to Olivia, "Take a seat sweetie," he patted the edge of the mattress.

She shook her head, "I don't want to dirty up the mattress, I don't want someone to have to make it again…" she looked around nervously and found a leather seat to sit in.

Trevor smoothed her hair gently, "just breathe, it's going to be okay. The absolute worst case scenario is that it might hurt a little bit, right?"

"Like I said, it's not the pain, it's just… I don't know a little PTSD, being taken right back to that situation-" she sighed. Trevor went to grab the other chair as Raia came back holding a little bowl and some vials with her details on them.

"K, so I'll get you to hop on to the bed. Trevor can sit beside you and hold you or whatever if you need, you do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable," she told her warmly.

"Okay," Olivia murmured. With heavy feet, she got up and sat on the edge of the bed and scooted herself back. Raia glanced at Trevor, hoping she wouldn't have to tell him how to be there for his partner. He got up without a word and sat beside her. He put an arm around her and kissed her temple.

"I'm sorry I'm being such a pain in the ass," Liv apologised, her voice breaking, finding the experience overwhelming.

"Aw no, Liv, it's fine," Raia told her quickly, resting her hand on her upper arm. "Lots of people have a fear of needles for all types of reasons, you don't have to feel embarrassed or bad, but we'll get you through it as quickly and as painlessly as possible."

"Thanks," she replied, trying her best not to let her eyes fill with tears.

"So I think Trevor should pull out his phone and find a video or a TV show or something you can stream that will distract you, while you're watching I'm going to examine your arm for a good vein but I'm not going to do anything else…"

"Okay,"

"You think that'll help?" Trevor asked Liv, pulling out his phone.

"Maybe… could you find the videos of Noah and Lexi playing hide-n-go-seek?"

Trevor scrolled through the thousands of pics it felt like he had of the kids until he found the videos of Lexi and Noah playing. He pressed play and held it with his free hand and his other around Olivia's waist. She found herself smiling at Lexi being led by Trevor to look for Noah. She giggled and shrieked and looked behind the couch and in impossibly small areas that her couldn't dream of fitting.

She felt Raia taking her arm gently and looking at her veins. She tried her very best to ignore the feeling. She laughed when Noah jumped out from behind a curtain, frightening Lexi who screamed but then jumped and giggled in delight, clapping her hands excitedly. He proceeded to chase her around the coffee table until she stumbled and he was able to scoop her up. The three of them laughed happily.

She had been tying up some loose ends at work at the time it was taken and she had watched it over and over and over again feeling so full of contentment.

"K honey, I've got your veins. They're really good too," she smiled. "So I'm gonna suggest that you lay down, just when there's a fear of needles sometimes if panic sets in it can make you light-headed and also it's easier for me to see what I'm doing."

"You're the boss," Liv managed to give Trevor's sister a smile. "Thanks for doing this, Raia, I appreciate your patience."

"With pleasure, anything for my sister and baby," she returned the smile.

Olivia got comfortable on the gurney and Trevor scooted up beside her. "Hey, let's make a new memory of you getting blood taken…" he spoke to her softly, caressing her cheek, getting comfortable laying down.

She smiled, wishing it was that simple. "You're with your family and nobody is forcing anything upon you, you need comfort and I'm comforting you and I'll protect you if sister savage over here pulls a fast-one on you," he winked.

"Be quiet or else I'll stab you and I won't be gentle like I will be with Liv," Raia told him.

Olivia laughed. He had a point. No one was trying to force her in to anything and she had the autonomy to walk out of the room if she needed. "Just remember to breathe."

"Okay," she nodded.

"Alright Liv, I need to just confirm your details," Raia got Olivia to confirm her date of birth and her full name. "Great, so I'm going to just put this tourniquet around your arm and I'm going to tighten it and while it slows down your blood flow, I'm going to get the syringe ready. I'm going to tell you right before I jab you, okay? Are you happy with me to go ahead?"

Her mouth went a little dry, but she lay by Trevor's side with him holding her eye contact. "Yeah…" she replied bravely. She felt his free hand slip in to hers. "I love you, this is fine, you're fine."

"I love you," she replied.

She felt the band tighten and Trevor coached her to take some deep breaths.

She could hear every sound, the sound of Raia unwrapping the new syringe, the sound of bits and pieces dropping and the smell of the alcohol wipe hit her senses hard, causing her to freak out just a little more.

"Its okay, Liv," Trevor told her, a little louder. "Look at me, focus on me," he had noticed her eyes begin to dart around in panic. After a few deep breaths, she looked at him. Her eyes were a little glassy. "You're fine," he told her, "I'm here and you can change your mind any time, but… we're almost done…"

"I know."

"You're doing good, sweetheart," Raia told her. She felt Raia's gloved fingers lingering over her veins again, finding the right spot. "K, I'm going to jab you in a second and then release the tourniquet, I need you to do your very, very best to not tense your arm, just try to keep relaxed."

Olivia clamped her eyes shut, wincing. Trevor felt a little helpless as he held her, stroking her hair and her face. She felt an ever-so-slight sting and the relief as she released the tourniquet, letting the blood flow through her hand again. She felt the tears sliding down her cheeks as the silence cut through her, remembering how her mother had glared at her with utter disgust as Liv had called and begged for her. She remembered watching her mother's back as she left her in the room with the nurses who held her down.

She felt Trevor brushing away her tears, kissing her cheek. "Almost done, love," Trevor told her, "you're getting through it like a trooper, I'm so proud of you for facing your fears…"

Raia didn't know much about Olivia's fear but she knew it was something that went beyond the scope of what she normally encountered. She was shaking and she'd noticed Trevor pushing away her tears, giving her affirmation and compassion. She was proud of her brother for being such a perfect support, glad that he had it within him to be everything that his girlfriend needed.

"Guess what? We're all done, Liv… Just hold still for a second while I fix up these vials." She pressed a cotton puff over the spot where the needle had entered and asked Trevor to hold it there awhile she organised the blood neatly in the small bowl and discharged the syringe in the sharps trash.

She bandaged up the spot and put the blood up out of the way to go and take straight to the lab. She looked at Liv and smiled at her. "You are a trooper, you did it. Anytime you need blood drawn, come to me, I'll make it painless and it turns out this gentle giant is probably a good support."

"Thanks for being so patient, Raia," Olivia thanked her, wiping her eyes. She went to sit up when a wave of dizziness hit her.

"Oh no, lay back down for a moment, have you eaten today?"

She shook her head, "I was too nervous."

"Okay, stay where you are. I'm going to run this to go up to the lab and I'll get someone to bring you a juice."

Olivia went to sit forward again but she paused, closing her eyes as the room spun. "I think I just worked myself up, I'll be okay-"

"No," Raia told her seriously, "stay where you are. I will get you a juice and you're not going anywhere til it passes."

"Raia is right, honey, rest back," Trevor gently pushed her back so that she was laying back down on the gurney. He got up from beside her, only slightly worried. She really had worked herself up and he hadn't realised that she had skipped breakfast, but it made sense. "You should have eaten something," he murmured, "silly… you just had a couple of vials of blood drawn, its no wonder you're dizzy."

"Did she really take a couple?"

Trevor smiled, "Yeah and you did really good. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get you through it when we were out at the car."

"I had good supports, thank you. I'll try not to be a pain in the ass like this again next time."

"It wasn't a big deal, I just had to support you, that's what we do for one another, right?."

About five minutes later Raia arrived back with some sandwiches and a bottle of orange juice. "Hopefully the guy in cubicle five won't notice that I stole his lunch," she chuckled.

"What!" Olivia opened her eyes up, alarmed. "No, Raia."

Trevor laughed, realising his sister was kidding. "Its okay, she's kidding, she just doesn't like to show that she's kidding."

"Oh my gosh… I was about to force you to take it back," she managed a smile.

Raia laughed and opened the lid. She passed it to Olivia, "drink."

"Yes ma'am," Olivia replied, taking a big mouthful of the juice.

"I'm going to take your blood pressure while you're here," she told her, wheeling a machine around to the side of the bed. "Let's use your healthy arm this time." Trevor stepped out of the way to make way for his sister. She slid the cuff around Olivia's arm and turned the machine on.

Raia pressed a few buttons and Olivia felt the cuff inflating. She continued to drink the juice as Trevor opened up the plate of sandwiches for her. Raia looked at the machine for a few moments as it deflated.

"Liv, is your blood pressure normally high?," she wondered.

Olivia glanced at her, "I don't know the last time it was taken, if I'm honest."

"Hmm, it's pretty high but it could be the stress of having to get your blood drawn. We'll try it again once you've had the juice and the food."

"Is it anything to be worried about?" Trevor asked, a little concern crossing his face.

"Look," she thought for a second, "if it stays high, I'll probably just get a doctor to consult and maybe they'll administer some blood pressure medication, you don't want high blood pressure when you're pregnant, but I would prefer to monitor it for about 25 minutes."

"Lucky we came in," Trevor murmured glancing at Olivia who didn't seem too worried.

"I've never had any symptoms or anything," Olivia offered, looking up at Raia.

"Yeah, maybe not but sometimes pregnancy can spike it. We just like it to be lower especially during pregnancy because it can increase risks of preeclampsia or placental abruption, which I think is kind of like…" she thought for a second, "it's probably a worst case scenario type of thing, but we don't want to take any chances…"

"Okay," Olivia replied slowly, realising it was possibly serious.

"I have to go check on my other patients and just go see where everyone is at, but I'll be back shortly. Just take it slow, drink your juice and eat that sandwich."

"Thanks Raia," Trevor's voice trailed off.

/

They got home in the early afternoon. Georgie and Patrick had taken Noah and Lexi for a walk down to the park to see the ducks and have a play at the jungle gym. They had sent photos of Olivia and Trevor to assure them that everything was okay.

"Are you okay?" Trevor asked her as she dropped down on to the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I'm tired - at least I know that being tired isn't from just being a new Mom to Lexi, it's pregnancy. Its like… just all of a sudden feeling steam-rolled by fatigue," she admitted.

"Well… I think that's normal. Why don't you lay down here and you can put your feet in my lap and I'll give you a massage."

Olivia gave him a look, "My feet have been in my stinky shoes all morning, I wouldn't expect you to touch them."

Trevor rolled his eyes. "You wore socks, you didn't go commando in your runners, Liv, don't be silly." He lifted her ankles and took a seat and pulled her socks off her feet and tossed them at her playfully.

She chuckled. "Don't use up all of your kindness too early, I'm probably only about six weeks pregnant," she told him.

"I'm not. I would do this whether or not you were pregnant, stop being crazy."

Olivia turned the TV on and sighed. "Do you think we should be worried about my blood pressure? Do you think Raia was playing it down?"

"No sweetie, I think Raia would be really honest. It went back down and she said she would check it again tomorrow so I think if it's fine tomorrow, we won't worry too much and you can wait for your first official check-up and then we just do a little more work to make sure you keep it down; swimming, walking on your days off like you were with Noah before I came and ruined things," he winked.

"You didn't ruin anything. Maybe I'll just have to make use of the apartment building pool and gym."

"Good idea, I'll join you if you need motivation."

"Thank you."

Trevor went to work on her feet, massaging the pressure points that gave her instant relief, not realising how sore and achey they actually had been. She picked something to watch that they both agreed on. Trevor knew the second that her head hit the cushion that she'd be asleep in a matter of minutes.

He would probably enjoy a little time to himself before his family arrived home. He had some things he wanted to take care of for his father including some weeding and some repairs to the side of the house; things that his father wasn't really able to get to anymore but had too much pride to ask him to fix.

He glanced at his phone and saw some new pictures Noah was sharing. He smiled at the picture that clearly his Mom or Dad had taken of Noah sitting on a swing, holding his sister happily in his lap, holding tightly on to her. He replied, "Gorgeous picture, possibly one for a frame. I love it. Mom's asleep, she went well with her blood work. I'm gonna go do some yard work, don't tell Grandpa."

He glanced at Liv and sure enough she was already asleep.

He carefully slid out from beneath her and glanced at Noah's next reply. "Wait for me to get home and I can help you, if you like?"

He smiled. He knew Noah didn't have a lot of opportunities to do guy stuff, he was eager to help Trevor work on his car a few weeks earlier, happy to just be learning about the engine and handing him tools as he needed them.

"Sure kiddo, there's a bit to do. Grandpa gets funny about me helping, but I'm sure he won't mind and may actually try to help if he's feeling up to it."

Noah replied with a bunch of thumbs up emojis. Trevor turned the phone to lock and went to get changed and grab a beer.

/

Olivia felt awful, everyone was awake and Lexi would not stop crying. She was exhausted and Trevor was busy assuaging his parents that everything was fine and both of them felt guilty for keeping them up at 3am.

Even Noah arrived, scratching his head. "I can take her downstairs, Mom?," he offered.

"Honey, it's okay, just go back to bed," she told him gently though she was frustrated. She felt like everyone thought she was incapable. Trevor returned and closed the bedroom door. He yawned. "Do you want me to try?," he asked.

"No!," she snapped, "I'm not an idiot, I'm capable of soothing her!"

"Whoa," Trevor raised an eyebrow in the dim light, "I never suggested you weren't, I was just trying to give you a rest, don't snap at me."

Immediately she felt bad as she bounced Lexi, "come on sweetie, it's okay…"

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Don't be sorry, its okay. I'll go and make her up a small bottle of warm milk and maybe she wants a fresh diaper."

Olivia nodded. She held the child across her, finally taking a seat back on the bed, her arms felt sore and her head was aching and she really was just so tired. She hoped the bottle would help. "Honey, you're going to make yourself sick, Mama and Daddy are both here, we're not going anywhere…" she rocked her slowly as Lexi coughed and sputtered on her own tears.

Olivia lifted her over her shoulder and rubbed her back. "Close your eyes sweetheart, its okay…"

She was thankful when Trevor returned, grabbing a fresh diaper from the baby bag. Olivia took her from her shoulder and laid her down in front of her and tried to ignore her cries as she wriggled around, not wanting a second of the diaper change.

Trevor did his best to make it as smooth as possible, holding her from wriggling away while Olivia did her best to be as fast as she could. "Okay, okay, okay, we're done…" she balled up the wet diaper and put it in a waste bag, passing it to Trevor who tied it up and put it beside the trash for the morning. He turned to his daughter, "How about you come to Daddy?" He showed Lexi the bottle. "Daddy will hold you while you drink some milk," he suggested.

Olivia's initial reaction to protest seemed to evaporate when she realised he was doing his duty, she could rely on him, he wasn't trying to show her she was incapable, he was trying to lighten the load and help. He took Lexi from her and held her in his arms, laying, cradling her. He placed the bottle in to her mouth and finally there was instant silence. She reached up and took it from him and held it in her mouth.

"There you are… maybe you didn't get enough to eat tonight," he told her softly, caressing her blond curls, "close your eyes baby, that's the way…" He sat down and got comfortable beside Olivia. He put his free arm around her and drew her closer. She rested her head on his chest and yawned.

"This is the hardest part, these night time screams…"

"Probably nightmares— maybe she's hungry or maybe the bottle is comfort, but either way Liv, it'll pass, I promise." He kissed her.

"I know, I just hate it, it makes me question my abilities…"

"You definitely never need to do that. You're the best Mom," he told her, kissing her forehead. "I'd like to think we all make a great team."

"I think tomorrow we should head off around lunch time so she can eat in the car and have a good afternoon nap so she isn't tired and scream-y back home tomorrow."

"Okay, that's fine… Maybe you should lay down too. I'll sit with her until she goes back to sleep sweetie, you rest."

"Yeah?"

He smiled and nodded. She kissed him on the lips. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for being a Dad."

"But I'm grateful…. Always grateful to you." She slid down beneath the thin covers. Trevor reached over and turned the lamp off so he was with Lexi in the dark. He knew now that she had settled she would probably get halfway through the milk and fall asleep again.

He didn't mind though, he would put her back to bed and sleep soundly until morning. He was more concerned with Olivia not getting enough sleep and keeping her blood pressure down.