Semper Fi

The Light and the Dark

Olivia was quiet on the way to the doctor's appointment the next morning. Her thoughts kept going to the conversation with Fin the night before. After the discovery of the baby boy's body her thoughts immediately went to Sydney. She was convinced that Sydney's reaction to her pregnancy and the discovery of the baby were related but she didn't know how. Then there were the thoughts that sobered her the most. A dead baby. She rubbed her stomach subconsciously every time she thought about it. For a few hours she lost perspective for a little bit. She was getting a little too emotionally involved and she needed to put some distance between herself professionally and mentally from the case. She felt sorry for Sydney without a doubt, but she needed to take care of herself for her baby.

Elliot watched her closely during their ride but didn't want to say much. He knew how Olivia was when she was processing something and she needed to go through the motions. He just hoped that at some point she would talk to him about whatever was going on. When he parked the car at the doctor's office, he reached over to lightly squeeze her hand for reassurance and to break her out of her reverie. He gave her that look that she knew all too well from their years as partners. The silent question 'Are you ok?' She returned his smile and nodded her head. She was fine.

As they walked into the waiting room, she reached for his hand and stroked the inside of his palm. The motion seemed to relax him and he gave her a genuine smile.

"I'm excited to see her on the sonogram again and see how much she's grown," she said after checking in at the front desk.

"Me too. Has she been active this morning?" he asked grinning. Talk of the baby always put him in a better mood. He didn't seem to be studying and worrying anymore.

"Yeah she was moving right before we got in the car."

Olivia's phone started to vibrate and it was Nick calling. She was about to answer it when the nurse called her name.

"Olivia Stabler," she announced.

She silenced the phone and glanced to see Elliot smiling. She didn't know if it was because she didn't take the work call or because he loved to hear her called by her married name.

They walked back to the exam room after getting her weight and she noticed the nurses whispering and looking at them. They went over the normal screening question with Dr. Wilder's nurse and then Olivia began to get undressed.

"So what's with the nurses around here?"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a mischievous grin on his face. She knew exactly what he meant.

"So you're going that route? You're going to act as if you didn't notice the whispers and looks when we walked back here," she said sincerely amused. She appreciated that he was able to lift her mood so easily.

"Well I did warn you about that but you didn't believe me. I think they are all just a little sad to see such a good looking man officially off the market," he boasted.

"Oh please. I thought maybe they were just gawking at my weight," she countered.

"Liv, you are 5 ½ months pregnant and unless you are standing at a certain angle in some clothes, you can't even always tell. Your weight is just fine," he assured her. He stepped in between her legs that were dangling from the exam table and gave her a peck on the lips. "Even if it wasn't I would still love you."

"We will see if you are saying that in a few months when I'm as big as a house," she said jokingly. She had wanted to be pregnant for so long. In actuality, she didn't care what her body ended up looking like as long as she brought a healthy baby into the world.

"Yes I will say that no matter how big you get," he said deepening the kiss. She moaned a bit into his mouth before he pulled back. "Even though all these young hot nurses want me."