THE RETURN

Chapter 74

Olivia awoke the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing. It only took her a second to evaluate her surroundings. Elliot's arm was wrapped securely around her, her back against his chest and his hand resting on her belly. By the sound of the deep breaths against her neck, she knew that he was still fast asleep. She reached out to grab her phone, noting that it was only five in the morning, an hour earlier than she usually woke up, before looking at her screen.

"Chief?" She tried to make her voice sound like she hadn't just opened her eyes.

"Morning, Captain. Sorry if I woke you but I have a busy day today and just wanted to let you know that I found you a detective. Her name is Kat Tamin, she's a rookie but she has a lot of potential. You'll like her."

"Will she be there today?"

"Yes, she starts today. She should be there eight o'clock sharp."

"Okay. Thank you, so much Chief."

"No problem. Continue to take care of yourself and that baby. If you need anything, let me know."

"I will." As she set the phone back on the nightstand, she snuggled her body further back into Elliot's and let out a sigh of contentment when his hand instinctively slipped under her shirt to hold her belly skin to skin.

With the increased contact, their daughter moved slightly within her and her lips curved up in a smile. She not only liked the sound of her father's voice, she enjoyed the pressure of his hand against her as well. When she continued her movements within her, Olivia reached her hand down to caress her belly too. Placing her hand below Elliot's, she was just about to close her eyes again when she felt a small movement under her hand that matched perfectly to the movement she felt within her. To double check that she felt what she thought she had felt, she used her index and middle fingers to press against the spot once more. The instant she felt the jump against her fingers again, she smiled widely and moved her hand up to Elliot's.

Shaking his hand slightly, she said, "Elliot!"

"Hmmm?" he grumbled as he dug his mouth further into her neck.

Instead of speaking, she used her hand to move his to the spot where she had felt the movement and pressed his fingers against her. When she felt the movement within her once more, she asked, "Did you feel that?"

Since the woman was hardly ever awake before him, he wasn't used to her speaking to him when he was half asleep. So, when she asked the question she did and pressed his fingers even more firmly against her, he attempted to shake himself from sleep.

"I felt her move from the outside," she added.

That was enough to finally cause him to sit up slightly behind her, press his own fingers against her and open his eyes completely, "You did?"

"Yeah, against that spot."

He continuously pressed his fingers against her softly. When he still didn't feel anything, he flattened his hand against her abdomen and applied just the right amount of pressure to have her roll on her back next to him. Since he knew that their little girl liked his voice, he maneuvered himself on the bed, so that he could lower his lips to her stomach. Before he began to speak, he pressed his fingers firmly against her and sent a silent prayer that he would be able to feel her. "Hey, honey. Mommy is saying she felt you from the spot that only I can feel you and I would really like to feel you too. So, please, with a cherry on top, let me feel you."

Although the sun was not up yet, the clock on her bedside table provided her just the right amount of light to see the features of his face. Olivia was glad because she could tell the moment he felt her movement within her. His lips curved up into a wide smile and his eyes filled with tears. "Hey, baby girl," he whispered, causing her to move once more against his hand. He basked in the moment of feeling her, resting his cheek against her abdomen in the process.