Chapter Twenty

Elliot leads me out into the cool evening air, just outside the restaurant.

"Tonight was the best night I had in awhile," I hear Elliot whisper in my ear, just before kissing my neck.

"Me too," I reply breathlessly.

I pull him up to my lips so he can kiss those instead.

~•~

"You think Dickie was able to get him to bed?" I ask Elliot, laughing.

"Maureen should've been able to."

I turn the key as I roll my eyes, when we walk inside, the lights are all off, except for the one that hangs above the island, Maureen is sitting on a stool with a few papers under her pencil.

"Hey guys," she says, not looking up.

"Where are the boys?" I ask.

"Asleep."

"No they aren't," Elliot says, making his way to their room.

I stand on the other side of the island, looking at the papers. "What are those?" I ask.

"Lizzie and Dickie have school trip in three weeks. Just filling out the permission slips."

I nod.

"They're asleep! What the hell?" I hear Elliot ask, can't hack from Eli's room.

"I told you."

"How did you get Eli to sleep?"

"Same way I got Dickie to sleep. Video games and junk food."

I roll my eyes.

"Well I gotta get back to mine and Kathleen's place. She'll flip shit if I'm not home when she gets up."

"Okay, see ya, Mo," Elliot says, hugging his daughter. She gives me a quick squeeze before heading out.

Once the door closes, Elliot says, "Well I guess tonight was successful for everyone."

A smile tugs at my lips. "Yeah. It was."

I slip out of my shoes, noticing now how much shorter I am than Elliot. I feel his hands take my arms and glide to my fingertips.

"We should definitely do this more. I miss you."

I pull myself to him and whisper, "I missed you too."

~•~

"Go! Take him and get his feet wet!"

Lizzie scoops her baby brother up and runs with him to the ocean. Me and Elliot are left alone. It's been...almost six months now, since me and El first had that dinner. And each time we're alone, I feel like I did then.

We're sitting and relaxing on the sand, on our tropical getaway that everyone in this family needed. We head home tomorrow night, and I really don't want to go. This entire week I've been with the kids, with Elliot. And on Tuesday, we'll be back to our busy, overlapping schedules. Huh.

"What are you thinking about?" Elliot asks.

I smile. "Going home, seeing the squad."

"I bore you that much?"

"No, not at all."

I lean into him, and his arm falls around me.

"You wanna get out of here?"

"And go where?" I ask, turning to face him.

"Anywhere. Let the kids hang out down here."

I agree, getting up with him.

We tell the kids we're leaving and walk up the sandy sidewalks to the hotel. The cool inside air makes me shiver a little, but I adjust.

We go to the little restaurant that's in our hotel and grab a bite, enjoying each other's company. I have to admit, we haven't been able to do...I don't know, "couple" things. We're still testing the waters, even though it has been 6 months since that first date. Our lives are so busy.

"What's it..." I start to ask, not really knowing where I'm going. "What'll it mean to Eli, when he gets older, that he doesn't have a mom? That me and you..." I trail off.

"That me and you...what? Me and you aren't married? We aren't both biological parents to him? Do you really think it's gonna matter to him?"

"He'll ask questions! What happens when every boy at school has a Mommy and a Daddy and he has a Daddy?"

"Well he has 3 sisters, a brother, a daddy, and a Livvie that loves him very much. I think he'll be okay."

"I don't want him to be like me. Wondering why I have no daddy. My mom flat out told me he left. And when I understood sex and rape, I found out the truth."

"He will learn that his mom passed away. He-"

"That too! Suicide is a sin. We'll have to tell him what Kathy did."

"And he'll miss her. We all do. But he'll learn. And he'll learn that it's okay to love someone else as a mother figure even though there's no blood relation. It's okay. Stop thinking so far down the line. We have forever with him."

"Give or take another 17 years," I reply.

"Hey, that's still all the time in the world."

Elliot pays the check and we get up. He wraps his arms across my shoulders and we walk. I rest my head in the crook of his neck for comfort on what the future brings.

Will I be around here forever? Will Eli hate me in the future? I don't know.

I really just don't know.

~7 years later~

*Eli's POV*

"Here, lemme see it, Little Man," Dickie tells me, turning me sideways.

He kneels in front of me and fixes my tie.

"Ready for today?"

I nod.

"Does this mean I start calling Livvie Mommy?"

He smiles. "She doesn't mind either way."

He adjusts my collar and then picks me up.

Maureen comes into the room, in her purple dress. "Is our Little Man ready? You look so handsome!"

"What about me?" Dickie asks.

"You're alright."

We go to a car and then to a church. After a long time, they hand me a pillow with rings on it. I do what I did yesterday.

Why do people keep calling me cute? Grr. I'm not cute.

*Maureen's POV*

So they're finally getting married. And I couldn't be happier for them.

Me, Lizzie, Dickie, Kathleen and the squad stand, linking arms. In typical Olivia fashion, she's holding her tears back. Don, who is holding her arm, keeps making fun of her for it. "Just cry already!" he says.

Which she won't.

*Kathleen's POV*

I feel like she's been my mom for so long already. To me, they didn't need to do this, they have been bound at the hip since they started working together. But, they do look extremely happy together.

Remember all those times I made fun of Lizzie for fangirling over her books? Well I'm kinda doing that now. Sorry, Liz.

*Lizzie's POV*

I'm not crying.

Dickie looks at me from across the way, smirking. I make a face and suppress my tears.

But I'm still not crying. I swear.

*Dickie's POV*

Somehow I knew this was coming. I don't know how, honestly. I just did. Mom loved Dad and Dad still loves Mom. Her death proved that. They didn't always got along, or get to be together. Maybe it was all the time he spent with Liv. They have some bond that they've had since they started working together. Nobody could deny it.

I knew I would be standing here one day. I would watch them two get married and possibly have children. But I don't think that's what either of them want anymore. I know Lizzie would cry, Maureen and Kathleen would make fun of her until they were in tears as well.

I resented my father for some time about never coming home to his wife, but how could he? His job was so demanding. His wife couldn't possibly understand what he was experiencing. But they both loved each other. That was the important thing.

I watch these two bond themselves in marriage, happily and hopefully forever.

I know they can make it. Hell, my dad died and they made it.

*Olivia's POV*

So...I'm officially a Stabler.

I didn't need a ring or a piece of paper to tell me that, but...it feels...amazing.

Growing up, all I wanted was a family. A mom and a dad and brothers and sisters. I wanted to belong.

And...And now I do.

The End

Okay. Some of you may have liked this ending, some of you didn't. I know. To me, it seemed like a good place to end, though it seems a little rushed. If you all want a sequel, let me know. It may take awhile to get my ideas together, form a plot. But I like what I'm thinking up for it! So yes, lemme know! I'm open to all opinions!

Other than that, I'm starting a new story called "Love, Your Baby Girl" relatively soon and I'm pretty excited about it! Ill let you know when its posted!

ps: I do have a Twitter and IG that I can post updates about my stories on. If you wanna follow, its @gimarie525, same as here! Just letting you know. I'll follow back those who tell me they've followed and what their tag is.

See you soon!!

~Gina Mariee