Well, everyone, here we are. The final chapter. I didn't think it would end quite this soon, but it did, and I must say I am proud of myself. This story was full of firsts for me, and most important of all, it's the only multi chapter story I've ever done where I focused solely on this one story while writing. It was very odd, considering that I'm pretty ADD when it comes to my stories. LMAO. But it wound up working out very nicely, so I'm happy with it. So here it is, the last chapter of Only Hope. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine. But can ya'll imagine if it were? Can you say full frontal nudity? LMAO! But Dick Wolf keeps mentioning the words lawsuit and restraining order, so I don't think I'll be getting them anytime soon...

I'd like to thank everyone for sticking with me through this little story. I appreciate all your ideas, thoughts, and encouragement. But especially I'd like to thank Sweet 4 stabler, whose shoe thievery and jokes make me smile, and El Chacal, whose reviews always seem to go on forever. Just kidding! Thank you guys so much!

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

Olivia was shocked. She was in Elliot's arms, and he was kissing her. Finally she groaned softly and deepened the kiss, closing her eyes.

He pulled her closer to him, not breaking the kiss.

Finally she pulled away from him and rested her forehead lightly against his, grinning.

Elliot reached up and buried his hand in her hair. "I love that smile," he murmured.

She kissed his nose, finally stretching out beside him. "You make me smile."

He ran his hand up and down her arm. "I'm glad I do." He sure as hell had made her cry more than he ever wanted to.

She snuggled closer to him, exhaling deeply. "Elliot..."

He studied her. "Yeah, Liv?"

"What I was trying to say earlier..." She looked into his eyes, so patient. "I love you, Elliot."

He didn't even have to think about it. "I love you, too, Liv."

She looked almost surprised. "You do?"

He laughed. "Of course I do, Olivia." He moved his hand to her face. "I love you so much."

She leaned into his touch, tears of relief forming in her eyes.

As the two held each other tight, the door opened. "Elliot!"

Elliot closed his eyes. He knew that voice, and he felt Olivia tense immediately.

Kathy came up to the bed. "What the hell are you doing, Elliot?"

Olivia slid out of the bed, giving Elliot a look before she turned her furious eyes on Kathy. "What are you doing here, Kathy?"

"What do you think? I'm visiting my husband!"

Elliot struggled to sit up in the bed.

"No, you're not. You know you're not supposed to be in here!"

Kathy crossed her arms over her chest, then looked over at Elliot and smiled.

Olivia stepped in front of Kathy, effectively blocking her view of Elliot. "I want you out, now."

Kathy glared at her. "Why don't we ask Elliot what he wants." She looked past Olivia. "Elliot," she started in the sweetest voice she could manage. "El, do you want me to go?"

Elliot closed his eyes. For a moment, he could almost hear the woman she used to be, the woman he had loved. And he would always love her for giving him his four beautiful children.

Olivia turned and looked at him when he didn't answer right away, and an icy fear gripped her heart. He couldn't really be thinking about that, could he?

Kathy smiled.

After a few minutes, Elliot finally spoke. "Kathy..."

"Yes, Elliot?"

"You gave me my babies, and I'll always love you for it." He looked at Olivia. "But I want you to go."

The color drained from Kathy's face, while Olivia looked relieved.

"I can't believe you're doing this, Elliot," she growled.

"I'm sorry, Kathy."

She leaned forward. "You don't know the meaning of sorry, you lying bastard."

Olivia glared at her. "Don't talk to him like that!"

"I'll talk to him any way I want!" she snarled.

Elliot's heart monitor spiked, making Olivia furious. "Get out, Kathy, before I arrest you."

Kathy looked at the furious woman, then at Elliot again.

"Now." Olivia took her by the arm and dragged her toward the door.

Kathy snatched her arm away, then leaned forward and hissed into Olivia's ear. "You're going to pay for this, you bitch."

Olivia shrugged. "Like I haven't heard that before." She pushed her toward the door and through it, then shut the door behind her and leaned against it heavily.

Elliot watched her. "Liv..."

His voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she went back to his bed, taking his hand. "I'm sorry, El," she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you sorry for?"

"I just..."

He squeezed her hand. "Liv, we talked about this. None of that was your fault."

She nodded, sitting down at his waist.

Taking her by surprise, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tightly against him, kissing her head.

She smiled and snuggled into him, winding her arms around him.

He buried his nose in her dark hair. "I do love you, Liv."

"I love you, too, Elliot."

His grip tightened on her as his heart rate slowly returned to normal. "You sure you have enough room for me in your apartment?"

She laughed, nodding. "Of course. And I have room for two teens and a twenty year old to visit, too."

He snuggled into her, grinning. "Thank you, Liv."

"Don't thank me, Elliot. I'm glad to do it." She rubbed his shoulder.

He met her eyes and pressed his lips against hers. Of course she would be happy to do it. She would do anything to make him happy, and he knew it.

She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him tighter to her. She couldn't wait to get him home.

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

A week later, Olivia was helping Elliot into her apartment. "Don't argue with me, El," she threatened, but there was no venom in her voice. She closed the door behind them.

"I'm injured, not an invalid," he grumbled, heading over to the couch.

She smiled as he sat down, and she couldn't help but think how right he looked right there. Her home seemed much more alive with him in it. She kicked her shoes off and went to the couch, settling in with him.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. "When are the kids going to be here?" he murmured.

She looked at her watch. "Maureen said she had to pick the twins up and grab a few things, so they should be here in an hour or two."

He nodded, closing his eyes and leaning into her. "I can't wait to see them."

She nodded, hugging him tightly against her. "I'm glad Donnely pulled all those strings and got you custody of the twins," she said softly.

He glanced at her. "I think you had something to do with it."

"Of course, but it helped that she doesn't like Kathy."

He looked around the apartment that she had lived in for over ten years, at the pictures that covered the walls and the little trinkets on the bookshelves. It really was the essence of his beautiful, amazing partner. This was the home she had made for herself and loved. "Are you sure you want to give this place up, Olivia?" he wondered.

She kissed him softly. "I never want to be away from you, Elliot." She grinned. "And I really doubt Lizzie and Dickie would want to share a room."

He laughed heartily. "You're right. They would kill each other."

"And I would have to clean up the mess, so you can see why I'm wanting a bigger place." She nuzzled his neck.

He kissed her head, smoothing her hair back. "You're amazing, Liv."

"I'm really not."

He met her eyes. "Yeah, you are," he insisted.

She looked away, shaking her head.

He reached out and brought her eyes back to his. Then he kissed her nose lightly. "You have no idea how amazing you are." He ran his thumb over her lips. "How beautiful..." He kissed her. "How smart..." His hand ran through her hair. "How generous you are..."

Her cheeks flushed. "And you are delusional."

"I'm not." He pulled her into his lap and held her tight. "Have you looked at any places?"

"Not yet. I wanted to get the kids involved." She nuzzled his neck.

He kissed her head. "They'll love it."

She kissed his head, then slid out of his lap and went to the kitchen. "You want something?" she asked as she grabbed a bottle of water for herself.

"I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed him a Coke. She still didn't drink soda, but she always kept some in her home for him. She went back to the couch and handed it to him, then settled into his side.

He held her close to him. "Maybe we could find a place with a yard."

A warm smile lit up her face. "I've always wanted a dog."

"We'll get a dog." He kissed her softly.

She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply. A year ago, or even a month ago, if someone told her that she would be sharing her home and life with Elliot Stabler, she probably would have laughed at them. But here they were, sitting on her couch and talking about buying a home together. It seemed almost unreal, but it was happening. She was curled up with him like it was the most natural thing in the world, and to her, it was. Having him right there with her felt so unexplainably right and amazing. And she knew that she never wanted him to go.

His grip tightened on her. The thought that she was giving up her home to make a life with him and his children, to him, was amazing. In the hospital, she had made it very clear that she didn't want to be apart from him. They had already lost so much precious time, and neither were about lose more. Not when they could help it.

They were content to just sit there and hold each other, and before they knew it, there was a knock on the door. Elliot looked at his partner, then reluctantly let her go. "You ready?"

She grinned at him. "I was born ready, baby."

He laughed, straightening up on the couch. Yeah, he was never going to be able to let her go.

Like he would ever want to.

So I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands

And pray to be only yours

I pray to be only yours

I pray to be only yours

I know now you're my only hope

The End!

A/N: The lyrics I used at the end there are from the Mandy Moore song, Only Hope, which inspired this entire story. I hope everyone got everything they wanted out of this final chapter. I did some math while watching s9 of SVU, and I've come to the conclusion that Eli is NOT Elliot's! There is no way! So I don't feel bad at all writing that into the story. Well, I do feel a little bad for Elliot.... Anyway, there it is. I haven't made up my mind whether there will be a sequel or not. But there is definitely lots of material to work with for a sequel. Remember, an ending is only another beginning. Now, I'm off to write another story I got roped into. I didn't know about doing it at first, but wouldn't you know it, the damn plot bunnies LOVED it! *glares at Sweet 4 Stabler* It's all her fault! Well, I've rambled enough. Review and let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading Only Hope!