Six months later…

Olivia closed her apartment door as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake Elliot. She slipped her shoes off, and then padded into the kitchen, setting her gun, badge and cell phone on the counter. Her phone lit up with a message from Fin, letting her know that their suspect had signed his confession, and that he was on his way to Rikers. She sent him a quick reply, thanking him for the update. The moment the message was sent, the current time flashed up on the screen.

2:35AM.

She knew that it had probably taken everything in Elliot not to check in on her tonight. He never said as much, but she could tell from the relief in his face every time she came home from her shift. On nights like this…when the only thing she could do is send a quick text to say she'd be late…she knew his anxiety was even worse. Nothing good ever happened after 10PM. At least, not when you're on duty with the NYPD.

Olivia could hear him snoring lightly and she smiled. Some days she was still surprised to wake up with him next to her. From the moment they had left the beach house, they had pretty much been living together. They hadn't discussed it. Elliot had simply come home with her, and sometime in the following weeks, as they juggled his departure from the NYPD, he had picked up many of his things and become a permanent fixture in her life.

She wasn't complaining.

It had made the transition so much easier.

At least at first.

It had seemed like he was on vacation, but as those first few weeks turned into months, she adjusted to her new reality. She had worked alone at first, partnering with Fin or Munch as needed, and she found it wasn't as horrible as she imagined. She had a new partner now and they were learning how to work together. It was a process. But at the end of the day, Elliot would be waiting with open arms, and having that to look forward to, got her through the day.

Olivia pulled her sweater over her head as she made her way through the living room on her way to the bedroom. She paused outside the door, shedding her belt, her black pants, her socks and her bra. She turned out the small lamp sitting on the small table and crept quietly into the bedroom. Once inside, she pulled the covers back and slipped inside. Olivia hadn't intended to wake him, but the moment she slid between the sheets, she found herself seeking him out, as she did every other night she snuck into bed.

Elliot rolled towards her, murmured something unintelligible into her hair, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body tightly against him. He was warm from sleep, and she melted into him, feeling the chill leave her body. Olivia slid one leg between his, and Elliot pressed his lower half against her. She knew it would be easy to wake him with a few kisses…a few strokes…but as she focused on the steady beat of Elliot's heard, her exhaustion set in. Moments later, she could feel sleep starting to take over. Right before she succumbed to sleep, she heard Elliot's voice.

"Glad you're home safe." He whispered. "I missed you."

That was the last thing she heard before she drifted off.

EOEOEOEO

Elliot smiled as Olivia emerged from the bedroom. Her hair was tousled, and she still looked half-asleep, but she had managed to pull on a pair of loosely fitting sweatpants and a t-shirt. "Good morning." He looked at his watch. "Or should I say good afternoon?"

"It's not even noon yet." Olivia said, shuffling into the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.

"It's 11:58." Elliot said with one eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face.

"Give me a break." Olivia said as she came around the wall that separated her kitchen from her living room and sat down at the small table, across from Elliot. "It was a late night."

"You think I don't know that?" He loved the fact that she wasn't particularly a morning person. The sleepy look on her face and in her demeanor was adorable, although he'd never tell her that. "I was awake when you got home."

"You weren't awake. I heard you snoring."

"I wasn't snoring." He said. "Any anyway, if I was sleeping, it wouldn't matter because as soon as you press your cold feet against my legs, I'm wide awake."

"Fine." Olivia said, hearing the teasing tone in his voice but playing along. "Sleep at your own place and then I won't wake you."

"Let's not get crazy." Elliot said. He reached over and hooked the legs of her chair, pulling her closer to him. Their knees knocked together and he kissed her. "When are we going to talk about getting a place of our own?" He asked as he released her mouth. He had asked her at least a dozen times and somehow, she always avoided the conversation.

"There's just a lot going on right now." Olivia said. She was still adjusting to a new partner and new dynamics at work, and to she and Elliot being involved in a way she had never thought possible before.

Elliot gave her a good-natured grin. "It's been over six months."

"Yeah, but we were partners for over 12 years."

"True." Elliot sat back in his chair, noticing the way Olivia focused on her mug and not on him. "Is there something you're not telling me?" He thought things were going well between them. They had talked through a lot of issues, past and present. Things like Kathy's perceptions…his kids…the other squad members…Oregon…Gitano. The list went on and on. But in this moment, he felt like they were in a really good place. He sat back up as a thought struck him. "Wait a minute. Are you afraid this isn't going to last?"

Olivia looked up at him then. "What? No. Of course not." She tried to sound convincing, but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't harbored that thought once or twice. "I mean, sometimes…doesn't it seem like it's too good to be true? That something is going to come along and mess things up?"

"No." Elliot said quickly. "I don't feel that way at all." He hated that for some reason, Olivia still felt like she didn't deserve to be happy. He knew there was a lot of deep, hidden emotional scars that she bore, and that it wasn't necessarily a conscious thing, but she should expect more for herself. And from him.

"You always had more faith than me." Olivia said. She didn't want to be negative, but their entire partnership had been so tumultuous that she felt she had to approach this relationship with a certain amount of self-preservation in mind. She saw the dejected look on Elliot's face, and she felt horrible. She reached out and snagged his hand. "I'm happy right now El. Really happy. These past six months with you have been…" She laughed lightly. "I don't even know how to describe it."

"You mean 12 year and six months." Elliot joked.

"Well, some of those years weren't so great." She teased back. "But I'll definitely give you half credit." She was trying to lighten the mood because she did want him to know that she truly was ecstatic with how things were going.

"It's OK to be happy." Elliot said.

"I know that. Didn't I just say I was happy?"

"Yeah but you qualified it with right now. Like you're not sure there's a future here."

"You're reading into it." Olivia said with a slight eye roll.

Elliot leaned forward again. "Am I?"

Olivia pressed her lips together and gave him a look that let him know she didn't appreciate his continued questioning. "I just said things were good."

"What am I going to have to do to make you believe that this is forever Liv?" He stood up, still holding her hand. "Should I get down on one knee and ask you to marry me?" He started to bend down, and he saw the look of shock and utter panic on Olivia's face. He almost paused but then a little voice in his head said fuck it. He wanted to do this. He had his right knee on the ground when he grasped her hand more firmly in his. "Olivia Benson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Elliot." Olivia said, her voice a harsh whisper. "Get up." She was so flustered. "This isn't something to joke about."

"I'm not joking." The words felt right as he'd said them, and a part of him couldn't imagine why he hadn't asked her at the beach house.

Olivia drew in a sharp breath. This was real. Elliot was asking her to marry him. Her mind was racing as hundreds of memories of their years together fought for her attention. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and she honestly wondered if she might pass out. She brought her free hand to her chest and closed her eyes, trying to grasp some semblance of control, when she heard Elliot say her name softly.

"Olivia."

She opened her eyes and saw his earnest stare…the intensity of the blue…the confidence…the certainty…and it calmed her instantly.

"Say that you'll marry me." Elliot said, his voice still soft.

Olivia looked back and forth between his eyes, trying to find her voice. She wanted to say yes…her body was screaming to say yes…but she found herself just nodding.

"Is that a yes?" Elliot smirked, surprised to see that he had rendered her speechless.

"Yes." Olivia finally choked out. "Yes." She said again, her voice firmer this time.

Elliot pushed himself up and pulled her from her chair in one mad rush. He brushed her messy hair back from her face and cupped her jaw with his hands, kissing her deeply. She felt her fingers digging into his waist, but she was kissing him back eagerly. When he released her, he saw a smile on her face, but also a look of disbelief.

"Is this really happening?" She whispered.

Elliot nodded. "It's really happening." He dropped his hands and grabbed her left hand in his. "I don't have a ring." He said with regret. Whenever he had imagined any possible scenario where this could happen, he had envisioned something grand. With flowers and a ring and lots of romance.

"I don't need a ring." Olivia said quickly.

"Of course, you do." He wanted everyone to know she was his. Finally. "I'm sorry about…" He waved his hand around the room. "I always imagined some grand proposal…"

Olivia lifted her hand to his lips. "This is perfect. You know I wouldn't have wanted that." She looked down at her sloppy sweats and t-shirt. "It seems appropriate given that I'm in sweats."

"You look beautiful." Elliot said quickly, drawing her body against his.

"You're biased." Olivia said.

"Hmmm. If you say so." Elliot murmured against her mouth as he kissed her gently. He let her go and dropped her hand, taking a few steps back with excitement. "OK. This is…OK." He took a deep breath. "We should call someone. We should celebrate. We should go look at rings…" He saw the look of surprise on her face at the abrupt change in direction. "What? I want to celebrate."

Olivia cocked her head slightly and gave him a small smile. She knew he wanted to make their news public, but she wasn't quite ready for that. She needed some time to adjust to the idea that this was really going to happen. This was between her and Elliot, and she wanted to keep it that way for just a little bit longer.

She closed the gap between them and placed the palm of her hand on his chest. "How about we go back to bed and celebrate in private?"

Elliot let out a small chuckle. "I could be persuaded to go along with that plan too…" He said, wrapping his hand over hers. "But then…"

Olivia nodded. "We'll talk about that later." She said. She pulled away from him, intertwining her fingers with his and leading him towards the bedroom.

Elliot stopped, forcing Olivia to stop, and she turned to look back at him.

"What?"

"Are you really going to marry me?" he asked.

Olivia narrowed her eyes and let out a small laugh. "Didn't I say I would?"

"Yeah, but…" It was all just hitting him now, and his emotions were threatening to overpower him. It had all happened so quickly…everything had changed…and a part of him was having a hard time comprehending that he finally had the very thing his heart had desired for so long.

Olivia watched the emotions play out on his face, and she knew exactly what he was feeling, because it mirrored her own. She moved back towards him and cupped his face in her hands. "It's all kind of mind-blowing, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Elliot choked out.

"I'm going to tell you something that a very smart man told me once." She said, sliding one hand behind his neck and placing a gentle kiss on his jaw. "It's OK to be happy."

"I know that." He choked out. "I'm…I just can't believe that we're…here." He grasped her waist and pulled her against him. "You're going to be my wife."

"I know. It sounds…strange…but you're stuck with me. Maybe you should have thought this through a little more before your spontaneous proposal." Olivia teased, trying to bring him back to her.

Elliot let out a small sigh and gave her a quick smile. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up bridal style, eliciting a cry of sheer surprise from Olivia. "No place I'd rather be." He headed towards the bedroom. "Let's celebrate."

The End.

AN: Thanks for all the notes and reviews on this story. I'm honestly not sure what I'll be writing next…so we will see. But I appreciate your continued support.