Olivia awoke the next morning to find the bed already empty. Brian had gone. The note beside her bed was one her hands found before her eyes. It brought a smile to her face.

"Today's a good day. How about we head down to the courthouse tonight? Give me a call when you get a chance."

It sent a coil of excitement down her spine as she glanced over to find the crib on the other side of the room. She found it easy to get out of bed, even in her exhaustion. Aleah was sleeping soundly as Olivia tiptoed over to her. It was like living in another life. It didn't seem real.

As per her usual routine, Olivia sipped a cup of coffee as she watched the sun peek over the horizon, lighting up the buildings with its powerful rays. She awaited her daughter's cries, begging for attention. At 6:20, those cries began. Olivia put her cup down and made her way back to her own room. Aleah calmed as soon as Olivia picked her up and fed her. Caroline arrived on time to watch Aleah, and Olivia was off to work by 7:00.

Brian arrived at work early as Tucker, his senior officer, had requested the day before. Both of them sat down and combed through the file of a troubled police officer involved in a precinct shooting. The words in the case files scared Brian more than he cared to admit. He knew Olivia was safe in the precinct, but never safe enough. What if that gunman had gone into the 16th precinct and open fired? He got uncomfortable thinking about what would happen if Olivia wasn't there to help raise Aleah. Brian didn't want to do it on his own.

He shook his head as he closed the case file. Nothing like a simple case file would ever have set off that deep trail of thought before, but it was different now with a child, a family. Tucker noted Brian's distance.

"Reel it in, Detective." He mumbled quietly.

Brian moved another file in front of him, taking notes as he went through it quickly. Life couldn't be so cruel to take the joy he held away. Not now.

He smiled to himself, thinking about what was going to be happening in just hours. He was going to marry Olivia. After two relationships and a baby they were finally going to tie the knot.

The day went so slowly. Olivia got a chance to call Brian over lunch, but he didn't answer. It didn't phase her. Working at IAB included working under Lt. Tucker, so she knew Brian had limited hours in which he could communicate. That was something she wished she could change.

The case they were investigating made headway. Every minute brought them closer to taking down another rapist. Olivia spent the final hours of the day filing the papers that had built piles on her desk. She took them all in a crate to the cabinets near the second interrogation room, catching the end of an interrogation of one of the drug dealers they'd found weaved into the case. Fin and Nick exited the room after the man asked for a lawyer.

"Get anything useful?" Olivia turned around as she straightened a stack in her hands.

Fin pulled the door shut behind him as Nick stopped in front of her.

"No. He was too high to have seen or heard anything." Nick replied dismally.

Fin shoved his hands in his pockets as he approached them both. "This line of people seems like a dead end."

"Maybe we'll find someone who knows something. We just have to keep working on it." Olivia shoved the top drawer closed.

"Let's do it Monday. Go home. It's been too long since we've had supper that didn't come in a box." She led them back into the squad room.

"Whoa. Olivia Benson, something's got into you." Fin challenged playfully. "You don't ever go home early. Just because Cragen's on vacation - we've ever taken it lax before."

Olivia stopped at her desk, checking her watch. 4:30.

"I've got something I've got to do." She answered simply, grabbing her things.

Amanda and Munch watched from where they sat, intrigued.

"Come on, Liv." Munch chimed in with a smile on his face.

Olivia stood up. There was no way she'd get out without telling them. So she let her smile finally show.

"I've got a date at the courthouse." Her feet were already moving toward the door as her words met their ears. Her little wave was the last thing they saw before she disappeared.

Munch chuckled.

"Well alright." Amanda smiled.

"Cassidy didn't even invite us." Fin laughed a little as he sat down again.

"She didn't say who was babysitting." Nick turned around to them, a smirk flickering across his face.

Olivia got home only ten minutes before Brian came through the door. Caroline was already gone, replaced by the sitter. After the sitter left, Olivia scanned her closet for proper wedding attire. Brian was already dressed, standing in the living room with their daughter, waiting to see what she'd wear. The knock on the door took him by surprise, and he answered to find Amanda, Nick, Fin, and Munch crowded around the doorway.

"We might have heard something about a wedding." Munch spoke before anyone else could.

Brian smiled, stepping aside and letting them in.

"And we didn't hear anything about a babysitter, so we thought we'd help you out." Fin added, waving at Aleah.

"Where's the bride?" Nick scanned the room for Olivia.

Brian handed Aleah to Fin carefully as he pointed to the bedroom door. "Trying to find something to where. I can't help with that."

He found Amanda's eyes and gave her a grin. "Why don't you go help her out."

Olivia was still standing in front of her closet, arms crossed, when the door opened slowly. Amanda entered with a small smile on her face. Olivia offered her the same.

"And what could you possibly be here for?" She teased her lightly, her smile growing.

Amanda shut the door silently. "Brian said you're looking for something to wear."

"It's not easy deciding what to where to your own wedding." Olivia quipped.

Amanda heard the reminiscent tone she held. She took the opportunity to walk closer to her sergeant.

"You've got to have a dress here somewhere." Amanda gestured toward the closet, glancing for an approving look for Olivia. She still intimidated the younger detective, though she didn't know it.

Olivia's hand reached for the box she'd been eyeing the whole time. Was it right? It shed dust on the bed as she set it down. Amanda looked at her curiously as Olivia removed the top.

"My mom's dress." The white dress had obviously been shifted recently.

"It fits?"

Olivia nodded. It seemed like she was in a trance. "I tried it on a couple weeks ago - just because."

The fabric in her fingers gave her such a vast expanse of emotions that it made her hands shake. Three months before Serena's wedding, she'd been raped. Her fiancé left her after learning she was pregnant. Her mother had never had the chance to wear it.

Olivia swallowed hard. Amanda watched quietly as she saw Olivia going back in time. Finally, the dress would be worn. She would have made her mother proud by wearing it.

"You already knew what you were going to wear." Amanda almost whispered it as she gazed at Olivia.

Liv nodded again, replacing her frown with a sad smile. "Yeah."

Amanda helped her into it, both of them admiring it when it was finally tied up. It was simple. The soft fabric hung perfectly loosely on Olivia's body, slim as it fell straight down at the bottom, trailing only a few inches behind her. The top opened, her collarbone and shoulders bare until the lace enveloped them. Olivia twisted her hair up into a single clip.

"Your mom would have been proud."

The bedroom door opened just as Aleah gave Fin a second smile. Munch, Nick, and Brian huddled around them both. They turned around when the door shut again. No one could speak.

"Who are you and what have you done with Olivia Benson?" Munch said quickly.

Liv smiled as she picked up the bottom of her dress and walked to them all. Brian nearly cried. Just when it seemed like Olivia was fading into normality, just like everyone else in the world, she'd show how extraordinary she really was. Her beauty exceeded anything on the planet he'd ever seen. He couldn't even form words as she put her hand in his gently.

"So. Let's go do this." She smiled.

The courthouse didn't seem bright enough to have a wedding, but when Olivia walked in with Brian, followed by Caroline, Amanda, Munch, Nick, Fin, and Aleah, it seemed to become more than adequate. She had that power wherever she went.

They exchanged vows, rings, and then it was done. They were married. Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy left the building with joy in their hearts. That same joy spread to everyone who watched them become man and wife.

The sun was just setting on the city as they landed on the majestic steps outside the building. The crowds thinned as they stood around for no reason, talking, laughing, just doing what friends do.

Brian, bantering with the guys, glanced over at one point in the conversation to find Olivia off by herself, holding Aleah in her arms as they both looked toward the sunset. Olivia pointed in wonder, giving Aleah a face of enthusiasm as they watched the brilliant colors fade into one another.

Even with her back to him, he could see both of them smiling. Aleah's head lulled into her mother's shoulder after a few long minutes of staring at the sky. Olivia planted the softest kiss on her forehead.

It made Brian's heart feel some sort of way. He was so proud of his beautiful family. It seemed like they were the only people in the world, even as the people below watched them, busy streets still loud.

Olivia immediately found his eyes as she turned toward them, Aleah already asleep against her shoulder. The small smile she gave him offered enough joy to last him three lifetimes. It was hardly real that he was living in one, getting smiles like that everyday.

And though they didn't know it, their love inspired the people who watched it unfold.

Nick, wary of Brian at first, had come full circle. He was so glad to be able to watch Olivia in all her joy. Brian had become a man worth spending the rest of her life with, and Nick was comfortable watching her with someone who would never hurt her.

Munch saw his best friend become a better version than he'd ever seen. Brian was a dependable, settled-down man with his own family. It was beautiful to see two very close friends of his get their happily ever afters - together.

Amanda found herself in a family again, one where she was more secure and happier than even her own. She'd found people she would never forget, those who she hoped she'd never have to leave.

Fin watched the woman he'd so long thought of as almost a sister find love, have a baby, and allow herself more happiness in just over two years. Her life in its changing had changed theirs too.

Olivia joined the group again, holding her daughter tenderly. "Drinks are on us, but we need a babysitter."

She took a wonderfully deep breath.

"You kids have fun. I've got it." Caroline kissed Olivia on the cheek. It was just another reminder that Olivia finally had the family she'd sought. Aleah slept then in her grandmother's arms, Caroline giving Brian a little hug.

The bar was their usual. So many people recognized Olivia that neither she nor Brian had to buy drinks for anyone the whole night. The squad drank for free on the news that Brian and Olivia had just been married. Her hand managed to snake into Brian's every chance she had.

They celebrated until after the sun left its last rays in the sky. That night there was nothing to fear, nothing to regret. There were only joyful hearts.