THE RETURN

Chapter 83

36 weeks

Her last day of work was actually less emotional than she thought it would be. 36 weeks pregnant was hard on any woman, especially one in her 50s. She waddled everywhere, her feet and back hurt and she was ready, more than ready to be out of her office for the next few months. She had made it farther than Michelle thought she would. The doctor had told Olivia that whenever she was too tired to work, she would take her off. But she was determined and as she packed up the last of her stuff, she wondered why the fuck she had been so stubborn. She could have been resting for the last four weeks and honestly, she could of used it.

Hannah was measuring... bigger. Which wasn't really a surprise to anyone. Olivia's belly was big and wide and she never knew her skin could stretch so much. New stretch marks lined the underneath of her belly, the sides of her breasts, the curve of her hips. But she embraced the changes. She welcomed them. For her body, she, was doing something she never thought she would do. Carrying a child had been the most terrifying, exciting, rewarding experience of her life and she was almost there. She was ready to be there.

The small spot in their room that had been reserved for Hannah was complete. The crib was up, the signs were up, the name banner Kathleen insisted on buying was up. They even had a small bassinet that Elliot assembled so she would be closer to them on the nights Olivia decided to put her in her own space. Exclusively breastfeeding until she went back to work was still the plan, so they knew Hannah would spend most of her time in bed with them. Not that either one of them minded, that's exactly where they both wanted her anyways.

Elliot was due to pick her up in thirty minutes. With the expanse of her abdomen, coupled with how tired she was, driving was not in her itinerary anymore. Her man had picked up so much slack during this whole pregnancy. He took care of everything outside of her job. The cooking, the cleaning, the shopping, dance practice, soccer practice, drop offs and pickups. Sometimes she felt like he was more exhausted than she was. Which he most likely was. Taking care of a home, as well as Elliot took care of it, was hard work and she couldn't wait to help him out more.

Lamaze classes were going well. Twice a week her and Elliot loaded into a class with people half their age to practice deep breaths and focal points. Olivia wasn't even one hundred percent convinced any of it was going to help her when the labor process began but Elliot and Michelle insisted she go. "Period cramps times one hundred," is what Amanda had explained labor pains as. And although that may have been helpful for other women, it wasn't very helpful for a woman who couldn't even remember the last time she had a full blown period. She remembered how bad her cramps used to be, remembered popping more than one tylenols in her mouth in the squad car, remembered Elliot always bringing her a chocolate bar at the exact moment she needed it, but she didn't remember the exact pain of them. And to know they were going to be one hundred times worse than what they were, Heaven help her.

But she could do this. She was going to do this. She didn't have a choice but to do it. And sometimes it made her laugh. She preached about protection day in and day out. At her job, on the streets, even to Eli when she felt like he needed it but she wasn't really one to talk. Her ass was 51 years old and pregnant because she had thought she had went through menopause already. Talk about not knowing her own body very well. Although, she still mostly blamed Elliot. According to Michelle, her body probably decided to drop an egg because it was being stimulated again. Being spectacularly stimulated again and the man was the one doing the stimulating.

But God, what a blessing. Olivia had never considered herself really religious. Noah was baptized and sometimes they went to church but fate was not something she believed in. Until Elliot came back into her life. There really was no better explanation for Hannah though, other than fate. Her body decided to drop an egg at the perfect time and as much as she blamed Elliot for it, she was so beyond thankful.