Well, I tried to figure out where this was going next and it led me to the end. Thanks for reading. I have an idea for what's next. Stay tuned my friends.

It wasn't that she didn't like sex. She did. A lot. But after Lewis and everything that had happened, she wasn't sure it would ever be something she wanted again. It's part of the reason Brian left and a point of contention between her and Ed from the beginning. After they had ended, she had just decided it wasn't worth it. She would be fine.

Yet here she was, pinned up against the wall of her kitchen, wrapped around Rafael Barba, yelling his name as he thrust against her over and over again until they both fell apart. She held on to him as she got her breathing under control, feeling him finally let go of the death grip on her knee and releasing her a bit. She looked over his shoulder at the pizza, now cold again, on the countertop.

"I'll have to remember how much you love delivery from that place" she said, smiling. He laughed into her shoulder, dropping a light kiss on her collarbone. He leaned back, pressing light kisses to her lips.

"Oh, Olivia. You have me all figured out." She pushed him away, grabbing the plate off the counter, popping it back into the microwave yet again. She shooed him out of the kitchen, and out of her personal space, knowing what got them into that precarious position against the wall in the first place 20 minutes ago. She grabbed some waters out of the frig and carried it all to where he sat on the couch. And they ate. And talked. For hours. Part clearing the air, part figuring out what moving forward looked like, part expectations with Noah. His eyes started dropping close to midnight and it took his last bit of energy to shuffle to bed, wrapping her up in his arms as they fell asleep.

But life outside the apartment went on. And they eventually rejoined it. Noah came back with his mother the next morning and Rafael wasn't real sure who was more excited about what was going on – Noah or Lucia.

The following week, he got the all clear to head back to work and he did the next morning. And if they were a dream team before all this had happened, they were now firing on all cylinders. Thoughts, ideas, actions – all in tune. It made those first few cases they caught almost easy. Rita even commented after a plea deal that she found them annoyingly effective and Barba could thank her with a case of her favorite wine. They worked hard so they could play hard. Neither was sure they had ever been this content.

About a month in, he got a text on his way to his office in the morning. The DA was requesting to see him first thing. He was surprised to see Olivia and Dodds sitting there, waiting for him to arrive.

"Rafael, come on in" Mike Cutter said, motioning at the last seat at the table. He looked across at Olivia and she slightly shrugged her shoulders.

The two men looked at each other and Cutter glanced back and forth between the Lieutenant and ADA. "So, here's the deal. No one has made an issue of you two yet. Hell, I'm not sure people even realize. You two are very good. But cards on the table, this is a thing now, right?" Liv and Rafael just looked at each other and nodded. "Good. If someone wants to make a fuss, they can and could maybe have some standing to get one or both of you reassigned or have cases reopened or something." They both looked at the DA.

"What are you saying?" Barba asked, unsure of where this was going.

"Well, Dodds and I have been coming up with some ideas, contingencies and what not. Not going to lie, it would be easier if you two were married, but I'm sure we can…"

"OK" Olivia said. The three men just froze, looking at her with wide eyes, Barba's being the widest.

"What did you say?" he choked out.

She smiled slightly, crinkling her eyes at him, cocking her head to one side. "I said, OK. If it would make life simpler if we were married, then ok." Dodds and Cutter just looked at each other. "Why don't… why don't you take a minute." Dodds said, motioning to the DA to follow him out of the room. The door closed and Olivia moved over into the seat next to him, resting her hands on top of his. "Liv" he whispered.

"Look, Raf. Till we are 85, right?" He smiled, remembering that day in her office, thinking it was the only bright spot he felt during that time, a promise of sorts. He wasn't even sure if she remembered, much less found it as important as he did. Why did he ever doubt her?

"You bet your ass, Olivia Benson."

"Then why are we wasting any more time. Didn't we decide a few weeks ago that this was it? Aren't we spending all of our nights together? Haven't we almost come to the decision that we are moving into your brownstone as soon as we can get a moment to make that happen?" He nodded in agreement to all of her questions.

"Then let's just keep this from being a thing. Those two men will fight for us and have our backs, but why make life harder. Let's get married."

He just shook his head, laughing quietly. "You deserve a big, elaborate, crazy proposal."

"And thank you for wanting to do that for me. But I don't need it. I need you, me, Noah and a ring on that finger of yours so that everyone else knows you are finally off limits. For good." He grabbed her, kissing her roughly. He pulled back after a moment, resting his forehead against her.

"You are going to make my mother the happiest woman in the world." Olivia just laughed and pushed herself out of the chair. She walked over to the door, opening it for their bosses. Both men came back in, looking between the two of them. Barba stood up and grabbed her hand and they faced the older men.

"Give us a month" she said and that was that.

And a month later they stood, with the sun setting at their backs, exchanging rings and vows in front of a small group of friends who were family to them.

She squeezed his hands as she opened her mouth to speak. "You once asked me if I was disenchanted with you. Over the years, we have fought, sparred, stopped speaking and at some point, fell in love. But I would never, ever say you have ever disappointed me in any way. You stand by me, even when you don't want to. You pick me up when I don't think I can move. You love me. That's all I will ever need from you."

He sighed, squeezing her hands and pulling her a step closer. "The truth is, I was never sure we would ever get a place like this. We fought so much of us. I stand here now, looking at you, and I wonder why. We were inevitable. I love you."

The justice of the peace barely got out the announcement of them being joined in union before their small, but mighty, wedding guests bust out in a raucous applause. Not that they heard any of it. The world melted away as they kissed each other with abandon.