The Road Less Traveled - [Bensler EO] ✓

ACT III

They were on the side of the road, miles away from where they had been pulled over. Only now, they weren't pulled over by a cop. Elliot stared out through the open passenger door, watching Olivia who was a few yards away and hunched over in the bushes. He'd offered to get out and hold her hair back, but she had swiftly told him to remain in the vehicle.

The last thing she needed was for him to see this. Just another reminder of why they were on the road to begin with. She wanted nothing more than to completely disassociate the idea of pregnancy with their trip, despite it being the sole purpose. She feared that the more apparent it became, the more it would weigh heavily in his mind.

He waited a few more minutes before hearing her footsteps through the grass. She groaned as she leaned into the car, grabbing his bottle of Mountain Dew. "Wait, Liv, that's my dri—"

He was cut off by the sound of her pouring the soda in her mouth and gargling with it. He grimaced in disgust, but slightly nodded his head. Of course she would. This was Olivia, why didn't he expect that from her.

She spit the soda onto the ground and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, tossing the bottle back in his direction. "Gah, good as new," she rasped, hoisting herself back into the passenger seat. "I'll tell you, that is one thing I am absolutely thrilled to be done with. You can only do that so many times before people start to catch on."

"Well," he sighed, guiding the Jeep back onto the road. "We'll be at the motel soon, you can rest and try to feel better."

She laughed. "Elliot, this doesn't go away when you put your feet up and turn on cartoons to relax. I wouldn't start to feel better until my second trimester."

"I - I know that," he sputtered, hanging his head. "Sorry."

"Nah, don't apologize," she waved her hand. "It's my own damn fault. I got myself into this mess, weird bodily changes are my punishment until I learn my lesson."

He listened to the tone of her voice, the calmness he recognized. It was her mask. She wore it when she was afraid or ashamed. He saw from the corner of his eye as she rested her head in her hand.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to eat again so the nausea doesn't get worse from an empty stomach," she replied.

"No," he whispered softly. "That's not what I was asking, Liv."

She didn't move, in fact, she froze. Her eyes stayed glued to whatever she was staring at, but she wasn't really staring as much as she was dazed. "Oh," she murmured. "I mean, yeah. What's the alternative to being okay? Whatever it is, it isn't an option."

"Right," he nodded quietly, keeping his eyes on the road. "I know that you probably didn't consider the alternative, which is understandable. But did you... I don't know... did you ever wonder? Like, wonder what it would be like?"

She took a deep breath. "You're wrong," she whispered. "I did consider. I didn't just decide this the moment the second line on the test showed up." There was no defensiveness in her voice as he would've expected, no vitriol or anything. It was sincerity. "I actually did sit down and think through each option."

"And?" he pressed more, actually interested in her thought process.

She sighed again, "And... each option was hell. Even this one," she stated firmly. "I thought about what it would be like to be a mom at my age. I'd either have to fight like hell to graduate, drop out, or get my GED. The rate of teen moms getting diplomas is lower than the likelihood of you getting laid by Kathy, and that's saying something. My mother would throw me to the curb without a second thought, and even if she didn't, I wouldn't allow my kid within a five mile radius of her or that apartment."