Chapter Four: A Christmas Wedding

The first Saturday in December dawned cold and snowy. The sun came out though, so at least it was bright. Today was the day that Olivia was getting the final touches on her wedding dress, and Casey was purchasing the bridesmaid gown that had been altered for her. Olivia's colors were green and red, because it was going to be a Christmas wedding. They were so very excited. Casey was also waking up at the Stabler-Benson castle. They thought it would be easier for the purposes of the day. Olivia got up, and went to get coffee and breakfast ready before she showered. She wanted them to have eaten so there would be no temptation to eat out. Elliot was already in the kitchen, the coffee maker going. Olivia came up behind him, putting his arms around his waist. "Good morning babe. Thanks for starting the coffee. Casey up yet?" She inquired, as she got out the ingredients for bacon, French toast, and eggs. She was going to make it all. She wanted them as full as possible. She was humming as she bustled around the kitchen. She was in a very good mood, despite the snow outside.

Elliot shook his head. "No, but I think that I heard her moving around in that guest bedroom. So I imagine that she'll be up soon. You ready to go and try on that dress?" He asked her, wiggling his eyebrows. Elliot could not believe that the wedding was so close. It was right around the corner. It was on the 23rd. They were going skiing in Denver for their honeymoon. Elliot had been saving for it for awhile. They were taking two weeks off for the honeymoon. And a few days before the wedding for the bachelor parties and whatnot. They didn't want to go into work hung-over, that would be a complete drag. Elliot got out some of the dishes Olivia would need to cook breakfast. Elliot loved her so much. He could not believe that they were actually getting married. It was amazing. Nearly every morning, he woke up amazed, that he was with her. He had often wondered if she thought the same thing. He hoped that she did. That would be amazing. But he had never asked her. He thought that she loved him, and she didn't have to tell him anything about that. She told him all the time that she loved him.

"Okay." Olivia said, nodding. She started mixing up the batter for the French toast. She could hardly believe how close the wedding was. It was close. It was great. Olivia couldn't be in a bad mood right now. She was marrying the best man she'd ever met, she was pregnant, and Christmas was here. She had already finished all of her shopping. She didn't have many people to buy for. She hadn't told Elliot yet she was pregnant, she didn't want to until she knew that she wasn't going to lose it. She was only a couple of weeks along. She had just found out a couple of days ago. Her period had been late. She had been over the moon. Olivia didn't know what she was carrying, but she hoped it was a girl. Olivia longed to have a little girl with brown hair and blue eyes. Brown hair from both of her parents and blue eyes from Elliot. She was very excited. It was all she'd ever wanted. It was her dream come true. "And you know I'm ready to try on my dress! I'm bringing it home today." She told him.

That's when Casey joined them, looking tired. Her long strawberry blonde hair was in a mess of waves. She was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and one of El's tee shirts. Olivia was wearing one of El's football jerseys, as always. Elliot thought it was hot. That's when Elliot noticed Casey had his shirt on and he playfully looked at her. "You are wearing my shirt." He said, surprised.

Casey gave him a big smile. "Yes I do, future brother in law." She said, giggling. She and Olivia were that close. They didn't have families, so they made each other their family. Casey was so glad that she had someone as awesome as Olivia in her life. She never knew anyone as amazing as Olivia and Elliot. They were the best friends she had ever had. Casey knew that she could count on him for anything. She got out a coffee cup. She poured a cup and then looked at Liv. "You need any help?" She asked, as she started to get out creamer and sugar. Casey was glad to get her dress today. It was a very beautiful color of red. Olivia's dress was white with a green sash around the waist and a long stripe of green on the back of the dress. It led down the train. It was beautiful. Once Olivia had found the dress, everything else came together. It had been perfect.

Olivia laughed as Casey made her coffee. "What the hell, Novak? You know you don't cook." She told her, still laughing. She got out the pieces of toast to put it in the batter. "But it's okay, you and Prince Charming can set the table." She was always calling Elliot that. It was their private joke. She had the nickname Snow White. Mostly because Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were blonde. She cracked some eggs in a bowl to start scrambling.

Elliot just chuckled and went to get his own coffee cup. He listened as they were chatting. Elliot was glad that they were getting down to being close to the wedding. He grabbed plates while Casey got out forks and whatnot. He put them on the table. It was starting to smell really great in the kitchen. He loved Olivia's cooking. She liked it, now that she finally had someone to cook for. For years it had been just her. Now she had Elliot. He said, "I am all set for my tux, and Fin's got it all squared away too."

"Well good for you." Casey said, rolling her eyes playfully. She got herself some more coffee. She was excited. Most of the girls she knew would be completely jealous. Casey wasn't at all. She knew how happy Elliot and Olivia were. They had waited a very long time to find each other. It was meant to be. Casey just hoped she'd find someone that she loved as much as they loved each other.

Olivia added some more toast. She wished she could tell him about the baby. She was too scared to. What if it jinxed it? She was way too superstitious right now to chance it. She nodded. "Good for you babe." She agreed with Casey. Olivia stirred the eggs on the stove. She was so reflective tonight. She didn't know where it was coming from. But it was okay, it was mostly good reflection. She flipped the bacon and the eggs.

Soon, breakfast was ready and all three of them were sitting down to it. Olivia was completely ravenous. Must be the baby. Olivia had already been to the doctor. Things were okay so far. Olivia was happy that she was having this baby, but she was totally scared too. She didn't know how this was going to work out. Especially since they didn't really know why she had lost the other baby. She just didn't want to lose this one too. It would be completely awful to go through that again. She didn't want to ever again.

Elliot noticed that Olivia was kind of quiet. "Everything okay, baby?" He asked her, hoping that it was. Elliot didn't want to hear that it wasn't. They were finally getting back to normal and it was very nice. They needed things to keep going their way. That had been a rough few months. Things were finally getting back to normal. He didn't want any more trouble. She could tell him anything and she knew it. Elliot waited for her response.

When Elliot asked her that question, Olivia worked to keep the worry out of her voice. She was doing her best to keep him from guessing that something was up. Especially since he was able to tell what her moods were. Olivia said easily, "Yeah, everything's fine. Why?" She asked, running her hand through her brown hair. She hoped that he would just take it at that. She supposed that she'd have to come up with something else to say if he didn't believe her.

That seemed to be true, so Elliot said, "Okay." He watched her face. She seemed to be okay. He wasn't sure he really thought so, but they'd go with it for now. That seemed to be the best option. He didn't want to push her if he didn't have to. She had taken the baby dying (well lost) so much harder than he had. He supposed he didn't blame her. She was the one that was carrying it. "You almost done with breakfast? So you can get out and get those dresses?" Elliot finally asked.

Casey was the one to answer. "Yeah. Liv's gonna go get ready first while I clean up the dishes. What you got planned for today?" Casey longed to find a guy like Elliot. He was a great guy. She hadn't been on a date in a very long time. She didn't even have any prospects on the horizon. She wasn't sure when or if any would, either. Casey was always so busy, too, that didn't help matters. She and Olivia were supposed to go out this weekend. Liv was going to be her wing woman. She just hoped it ended up in her getting booty. It had been a long time for her. She needed a spackle, so to speak.

Elliot shrugged. "Fin and I are going to do some guy stuff." He said. Elliot was glad they were getting to hang out. It had been a little bit. He was unsure as to why Fin wasn't spending time with John. But he didn't want to knock it, he needed guy time. He got up and took his dishes to the sink. "Are you going to need any help cleaning up, Novak?"

Casey shook her head. "No, you can get ready for your day with Fin. I got this." She got up and went to start rinsing dishes before she loaded them all into the dishwasher. She watched as Olivia went up to take a shower. Casey had taken hers the night before, so she just had to get dressed and fix her hair.

A little while later, Olivia and Casey were at the dress shop. They had champagne, and Olivia was in her dress while it was being altered. Casey's dress was all ready to go and hanging up for her. She was sipping her glass of champagne and watching as they were altering Olivia's dress. Olivia was looking at Casey. She was debating whether she should tell Casey about the baby. Nobody knew. She felt like she had to tell somebody. Olivia wanted to be able to talk to somebody about it. She couldn't at home. She looked at Casey as the store clerk bobbed around her, altering the dress. "Casey, I have something to tell you." She said, toying carefully with her long brown hair. She was glad that they were going to be getting married inside, since her dress was strapless. When Casey looked at her, she said, "Case, I'm pregnant."

Casey gasped. "Oh my God, Livvy! How long have you known?" She put down her glass of champagne and hurried over to her and the store clerk stopped long enough so Casey could hug Olivia. This was going to be great for Elliot and Olivia.

Olivia replied, "I've known for a couple of days. I went to the doctor yesterday. I am a couple of weeks along. I took four tests when I missed my period. I wanted to make sure that I was really pregnant. I haven't told Elliot yet. I don't want to get his hopes up in case something happens. Do you think that I'm doing the right thing?" Olivia didn't know what Casey would say but she hoped that she'd tell her that she was doing the right thing. She didn't want to tell Elliot yet. What if she lost it?

Casey thought about this for a minute. She thought it probably was. A good thing to not tell El yet. "You know, that's probably a good idea. It would be a good idea. What if something happens?" She said. "I support you completely on this one." She then smiled. "On a different note, you look amazing in that dress, Liv." She cried.

A smile lighting up her features, Olivia replied, "I am beautiful, aren't I?" She asked, as the clerk announced that she was done with her alterations. Olivia took a look at herself in the mirror. She started to cry. This was her wedding dress. She was going to get married to the man of her dreams. They were having a baby. It was like she was the ugly duckling and she was turning into a beautiful swan. Olivia had been popular in school. It's not like she had been that girl that nobody liked, but she had been on the outside a lot. Her mother being a drunk had kept her from being able to join things. Make friends with others. Olivia had been too embarrassed to bring her friends back to her apartment. She had always been embarrassed of her mother's shenanigans. This was the best time of her life. And it could only get better.

Meanwhile, Elliot and Fin were hanging out at the house, playing the video game system. Elliot had a PS3, a Wii, and an Xbox 360. He had liked to play games. He and Fin were playing Halo. There was a lot of yelling and cursing. They were having fun, however. Elliot was currently losing, and he was crying loudly how much Fin was winning. It was a lot of fun. Elliot thought this had been a great idea. They had a pizza coming in a little bit. Well, two pizzas. They were both pretty hungry. Some beers had been consumed, also. Elliot was also wondering why Fin kept looking at him like he had something to tell him. Elliot had no idea what it was if he did. Elliot put down his controller as the doorbell rang. They'd ordered from Pizza Hut.

After he'd paid for the pizza, he closed the door and joined Fin again on the couch. He had already gotten paper plates and napkins. He opened the first pizza box and put the sodas on the table. "So, Tutuola, is there something you need to tell me?" He asked, as he piled his plate with pizza.

"What are you talking about, Stabler?" Fin asked, his heart was pounding. He did want to tell him about him and Munch. He knew that Olivia hadn't said anything. Fin wanted to tell him himself. Fin wasn't worried about Elliot not accepting him. Elliot was one of the most accepting people he knew. Fin wasn't worried about El not accepting him. He was just nervous saying that he was gay out loud. It was hard. He had only told Olivia. He hadn't even told his son yet. Fin didn't think that would be a problem either, since his son was also gay. Fin didn't know what to say to bring it up. He was hoping that he could stall long enough so he could find the right words.

After Elliot had freed his mouth of pizza, he took a deep swallow of Coke. "You just look like you have to tell me something is all. I am a cop, just like you. Just tell me. It's obviously something you want to tell me." Elliot said, as he took a few more bites of pizza.

That was exactly the opening that Fin hadn't wanted but had known was coming. Fin took a few more bites himself and then let out a deep breath. He looked at Elliot. "El, Munch and I are together. I'm…. I'm gay." He actually felt a whole lot better saying it out loud. It felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He had been holding that in for a very long time. It felt great to get it off his chest. Now maybe he could finally be himself. "I've only told Olivia." He said, watching Elliot's face. There wasn't much expression on his face yet, so maybe it was still sinking in. It had to be okay. It just had to be.

When Fin said that he was gay, it was a complete shock. He had actually never noticed that before. Elliot wasn't sure what to say. He of course accepted Fin's choice. That was what he was, so he had to accept him. Elliot just wanted to make sure that he said the right thing so as not to offend Fin. "How long have you been with Munch?" He finally asked.

When that's all he asked, Fin felt relieved. That was all he was going to say. Like he had even been worried. He mostly hadn't been. Fin replied, "Seven months. We got together a month before Liv joined the squad." They hadn't really discussed when Olivia had joined the squad very often, because of the baby. He felt weird bringing it up now. He didn't want to bring up any bad memories of that time for Elliot. It had been the roughest six months of any of their lives. Fin almost cringed now, just thinking about it. It had been the worst.

Elliot absorbed this. That did remind him of Olivia losing the baby, but they were so happy now that it didn't have a negative effect. He just smiled and took a bite of his pizza. "That's great, Fin. I'm happy for you. Really." He wondered if they would get married. It would be great, they'd been single for a really long time. But at least they had found each other. Elliot just hoped that they were half as happy as he and Olivia were. Everyone deserved to be that happy.

Two weeks later: The wedding day

Olivia was a complete nervous wreck. She and Casey were in the dressing room at the church. It was Protestant, which was the church that had agreed to let them get married. The whole church was decorated in red and green. There were poinsettias, mistletoe, red garland, and a huge Christmas tree at the altar. It was fully decorated. It was beautiful. Olivia was working on getting into her dress. They had lifted it over her head, and were working on getting it all zipped up. She had the IPod on the dock playing Christmas music. Her hair wasn't done yet, the hair dresser was coming to the church. Olivia had thought it was the best idea. She didn't want to take a chance of it getting messed up before the ceremony. She was getting an updo. She was going to sit her tiara and veil on top. Olivia smiled as Casey got it all zipped up. She was beautiful. Olivia went to look at herself in the mirror. She smiled more. Her long brown hair hung in waves to her shoulders. She could not believe how beautiful she looked right now.

Casey was already in her dress with her hair done. Elliot had spent the night before with Fin, so they had done the whole traditional thing. Casey had spent the night with Olivia, since she was the maid of honor. They had had a great day so far. The wedding was at four, so they could have an amazing reception. Olivia and Elliot were leaving the next day for Denver. Their plane was for the next afternoon so they could drink as much as they could. If they wanted. Olivia had arranged for them to have a limo. Their wedding night was going to be at the Radisson. They only had so much money. Casey smiled. Her strawberry blonde hair was hanging in curly waves around her shoulders and back. She wore a dark red dress with a green sash. It was long and elegant. She had on tall green high heels. They were Jessica Simpsons. "You look great, Olivia." Casey exclaimed.

Olivia smiled. As she was turning a little in her dress to hear it swish, the hair dresser arrived. Olivia sat down at the mirror and dressing table. Olivia's makeup was already done, too. The hair dresser began curling Olivia's long brown hair with a curling iron. She had pins so she could put it up. Lots of hairspray would be used, too. Olivia could not be happier right now. She looked at Casey in the mirror. "It's my wedding day, Casey." She said happily. Not only that, but she was still pregnant. She had yet to tell El, but she thought tonight would be a good idea. She thought that they could be happy about it together. She was just going to have to figure out a way to not drink without letting anyone know that. She was pregnant. It was going to be amazingly hard. But she could deal.

An hour later, they were all waiting for Olivia to come down the aisle. Elliot was looking at her, tears in his blue eyes. He could hardly believe this was happening, and it was here. There she was. She was gorgeous. Elliot still couldn't believe that they were doing this. Elliot was so much in love with her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He straightened himself, trying to look as good as he could. The minister was looking at Olivia too. Everyone had stood up. Casey was on the side Olivia would stand on, smiling away. Elliot still couldn't believe his luck. They were going to be so happy together. Elliot had been waiting his whole life for a girl like Olivia.

As Olivia headed down the aisle, all eyes were on her. She felt so beautiful. She walked as slowly down the aisle as she could. She wanted to take in the awe as much as she could. It was making her feel as beautiful as she ever had. At the end of her walk down the aisle was her handsome fiancé, who was about to become her husband. That was the amazing part. She joined him at the altar, passing off her flowers to Casey. Olivia took El's hands as the minister started the wedding. Olivia gave him a big smile. She barely heard the minister as she was gazing into El's eyes. Then it was time for their vows. Olivia went first. "All of my life, I have been alone. I never had a family, and I didn't have a lot of friends. Then I met you. I didn't even know what hit me. How amazing you'd be to me. I've never looked back since I met you. I think I knew as soon as I saw you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I never met anyone else like you. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me."

Tears were flowing freely down Elliot's face. He thought what she said was beautiful. Elliot stroked her cheek with his thumb. "You are the most beautiful girl I ever saw. I went 35 years of my life without you. I don't know how I made it without you. But now I have you. I wouldn't give you up for anything in the world. I promise that you'll never have to know what it's like without me because I'll never leave you. I love you more than anyone or anything in this world." He took Olivia's hands in his. Elliot was so nervous. They were in front of all these people. He wiped his palms on his pants as the minister went on with the rest of the ceremony. Elliot took the ring from Fin. "With this ring, I thee wed." He said, sliding the ring on the finger of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Elliot still could not believe he was getting married today.

Then it was time for them to kiss and be married for real. Elliot took Olivia in his arms, and kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone before. Then he turned her on her side, dipping her. She laughed and smiled as she looked up at him. Elliot kissed her until their toes curled, and then they went to leave so they could go to the reception hall. Olivia couldn't take her eyes off her ring. Then she lifted her eyes to El's blue ones. She was so happy. There was nothing that could take away from her happiness. How little did she know that she was so wrong.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it's been a little while. I hope it won't be so long till the next chapter. XD.