You and I [A Bensler Fanfiction]

Seventeen

"Don't call her a slut, Christine," Elliot grumbled, as he looked out of the kitchen door and saw that Olivia was still sitting on the back porch.

"What else should I call her?! This is the woman that doesn't know which man she fucked ended up fathering her child!" Christine laughed bitterly. Elliot wanted to go off on Christine, but he knew that she'd use that as ammunition against him in the custody battle.

"I'm coming home on Sunday night and will pick up Avery. You can fight me on this and put our daughter through hell, or just accept that I'm taking her with me. She'll get more attention here, especially since she'll be closer to my parents and Olivia's family."

"She's not going to Avery's mother, Elliot Stabler!" Christine yelled.

"I didn't say that, Chris. Don't be putting words into my mouth," Elliot sighed, as he scrubbed a hand down his face.

"If she even comes near our child-"

"I'm ending the call, Christine. Calm down and call me back if you are willing to talk like grown adults instead of a bratty child," Elliot grumbled. He ended the call and quickly shoved it into the back pocket of his pants. 

He looked out of the door again and saw that Olivia was looking over her shoulder and at him. She frowned softly, her eyes examining the pain on his face.

"There is no way that I can hide this drama from her," Elliot mumbled to himself before forcing a smile.

///

Olivia was still in pain by later that night, but it got even worse than it had been earlier. She spent most of her time in the bathroom getting sick since the pain was something she hadn't experienced before. Elliot tried to balance taking care of the boys and comforting Olivia, but he was getting overwhelmed. Eventually he borrowed Olivia's phone and called Serena to help.

"What's happening?" Serena asked once she reached the house.

"Olivia is getting worse and the boys are hyper," Elliot explained, as he ran a hand over the back of his neck.

"Worse? What do you-" Serena started, but stopped when Olivia cried out painfully from upstairs. The cry made the boys stop running around the backyard, and they watched as their grandmother and Elliot raced up the stairs to check on Olivia.

Elliot found Olivia on her side in the bathroom, her hands gripping onto her tensed stomach.

"Liv, what's wrong? Tell me where the pain is, baby," Elliot cooed, as he knelt down beside her. Serena sat down beside them and she ran her hand over Olivia's belly.

"El, it hurts," Olivia whimpered, as Elliot smoothed Olivia's sweat soaked bangs.

"I think she's having a contraction," Serena breathed. Elliot turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"She's only thirty weeks... It's way too early," Elliot whispered.

"H-help me," Olivia whispered, as took a shaky breath and looked up at Elliot.

"Do you want to go to the hospital? I can get you there pretty quick."

"I don't want to lose my baby," Olivia replied.

"Okay... Uh, can you go unlock my car and open the passenger side door? I'm going to carry her down," Elliot spoke.

"Yes. Where are your keys?" Serena asked. 

"In the bowl by the door. Please hurry."

Elliot waited for Serena to open the front door before he lifted Olivia's body into his arms. He held her close as Olivia cried into his shoulder, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

"It's going to be okay, babe. I promise," Elliot cooed gently.

"S-something is so wrong," Olivia grunted.

"And that is why we are going to the hospital. We will get you help and know what is wrong in a few hours. Okay?"

"O-okay," Olivia whimpered.

Elliot carried Olivia down the stairs and to where Serena was coming back in. She grabbed the boys before they could race after their mother. Jackson and Landon let out cries as they fought their grandmother's arms.

"Mama!"

///

Olivia had three more contractions on the half-hour car ride to the hospital. They had hit mid-day traffic and there was no way around it. Elliot let Olivia hold his hand, and he didn't even mind when she squeezed it tightly to the point his fingers had little blood left in them.

"Uh, can we have some help?" Elliot exclaimed as he carried Olivia into the ER. It was packed as usual, so Elliot was worried that they'd have to wait. That Olivia's labor would progress and their thirty-week baby would be born in a waiting room chair.

"We are all waiting," an older woman grumbled.

"Okay, I get that. But my girlfriend is in preterm labor. So your bruised finger can wait," Elliot snapped back. Olivia groaned deeply into Elliot's shoulder as she clung to him.

"I'm having another one," Olivia mumbled. Elliot nodded slowly, before kissing her sweat soaked forehead.

"C'mon, we need at least a wheelchair!"

A nurse brought them a wheelchair, and Olivia was lowered into it. She reached out and grasped onto the hem of Elliot's shirt as she was wheeled to an empty bed.

"Sir, wait here. There is paperwork and-"

"How is paperwork more important than her?! She's having a baby way too early, and the last thing she needs is for her care to be postponed because I forget to fill out a line!"

"We aren't going to just leave her there until the paperwork is complete! Just fill out what you know, and we will assist her. You can't join her until this is finalized, okay?" The nurse spoke, as she shoved the clipboard into Elliot's hands.

Elliot stumbled to a chair and quickly filled out the forms to the best of his ability. As he filled in each line, he heard Olivia swear and cry out from the bay she was in. He felt tears stream down his cheeks, and all he wanted was to be by her side. He eventually signed the last form before running it to the nurse's station. He raced to Olivia's bay and opened the curtain quickly.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, his hand quickly moving into Olivia's.

"She's in labor. We are giving her medicine to stop the contractions and are going to move her upstairs. I'm going to try my hardest to prevent her from delivering this early, okay?" A doctor spoke. Elliot nodded slowly before looking down at Olivia. Her face was pale and she had been biting her lip, so it was dripping blood.

"This kid is going to make it, Liv," Elliot breathed.

"I keep fucking everything up," she whimpered.