Our Place

The Party

I'm fussing with my hair in the bathroom when Chris walks in with August on his hip.

"We don't have to leave for almost an hour." He says.

"Yeah." I say quietly. "I know."

"Are you nervous?" He asks.

"Of course I am." I say honestly, "This party is a big deal for the cast and crew, not to mention how long it is and they still don't know we're together or that I'm pregnant."

"They're your family." He says.

"They are." I say, "But they don't know that I'm pregnant and they don't know that we're together."

"And it'll be fine." He says, kissing my temple. "You look beautiful."

I pull the dress away from stomach, doing my best to hide the small bump.

"You're worried aren't you?" He asks.

"Of course I am." I say, "I'm almost 12 weeks and no one knows, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"People are going to find out eventually." He says, leaning against the doorframe.

"Chris, I love you, and I am unbelievably excited to be having a baby with you." I say, kissing him softly and resting my hand on his chest, "But we won't be able to go anywhere, we won't be able to leave the house without somebody taking a picture or bombarding us with questions."

"I know." He says, kissing me. "Let's just go, let's not worry about it today."

I nod my head and he kisses me again.

The doorbell rings and scares August. He starts to cry but is immediately comforted by Chris.

I look through the peephole to see the building manager.

"Hi Ernie." I say, opening the door.

"Good morning Ms. Hargitay, Mr. Meloni..." He says waving at Chris. "These have been piling up on my desk this morning and I didn't know what to do with them."

He hands me the stack of magazines with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Thanks, Ernie." I say, shutting the door behind him.

I toss the magazines on the couch and pick up the first one.

The headline, 'Mariska Hargitay Packing On The Pounds?' in huge letters with a picture of me walking in Manhattan. The picture is from two days ago. I was walking up the steps of the courthouse and you could see my bump through my dress.

The next headline, 'Mariska Hargitay: Recently Divorced and Already Engaged?" With the same picture, this time focused on the ring on my finger instead of my hand.

The next three are all about the divorce.

The next one is a picture of me getting my hair done on set. I actually look pregnant in this one. This says, "The Inside Scoop on Mariska Hargitay's Second Pregnancy."

I flip to the page number. I'm shocked and horrified as I read on.

"Although yet to be confirmed by her publicist, it's undeniable at this point that Mariska Hargitay, 30, is expecting her second child. It has recently been revealed that the actress most popular for playing TV's most notorious sex crimes detective and domestic violence advocate, was a victim of domestic abuse herself. This information came up in the recent custody battle over the child she shares with her ex-husband, former actor and current convict, Peter Hermann. Mariska and best friend/co-star Christopher Meloni have been spotted over a dozen times together in the last two weeks alone. The real question here is who's the baby daddy? Abusive ex-husband, Peter Hermann? Or her Law and Order SVU Co-Star, Christopher Meloni?"