Chapter 10: Chapter 10

A/N: Will Ryan and Cassidy work together or is it every man for himself? What else will Disneyland bring? More family fun!

DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©

"Okay, Daddy needs a break," Elliot said, plopping into the nearest bench. "Mister Toad's Wild Ride was...a little too wild for me," he said, shaking his head.

"It wasn't that bad," Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

Elliot looked up at her. "That damned frog had us zigging and zagging and flipping, and I think my stomach thinks we're still in the stupid car." He held a hand to his stomach and burped, trying not to be sick.

Olivia chuckled. "It couldn't be the three steins of beer and four burritos you had for lunch, ten minutes before we got on the ride, could it?"

Elliot gave her an annoyed look. "Shut up," he said with a smirk. He stood up, burped again, and grimaced. "Okay, maybe it was the Mexican..."

Suddenly, Lizzie gasped and tugged on Olivia's fingers as she spotted something exciting. "Mom! Mom! Can we go on the bobsled ride?" she asked trying to get Olivia to move toward the Matterhorn Mountain attraction.

Olivia was frozen; her face was expressionless.

"Uh, Lizzie," Kathleen said cautiously, "That's not Mom."

Lizzie's eyes widened. She turned around slowly and saw her hand clutching Olivia's. "Oh," she said. "I...I'm sorry, Liv. It just came out."

Olivia, looking down at the nine-year-old, took a breath and said, "No, it's fine. It's...it's an honest mistake, sweetie. You probably should be here with your mother."

"No," Maureen interrupted with folded arms. "We shouldn't be here with her. We should be here with you, Liv. And we are."

"And I didn't make a mistake," Lizzie whispered, looking at her father.

Elliot's eyes widened slightly as he realized what that meant. "Hey," he said. "Uh, yeah, that bobsled thing looks like fun. Go on, guys. Me and Liv are right behind you."

Lizzie smiled, then ran with her siblings to get on the line for the ride.

Olivia, taking a few slow steps with Elliot beside her, quietly said, "She called me..."

"I heard her," Elliot said, just as quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Elliot," Olivia said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I never meant for any of your kids to...I'm not trying to be their mother, and it's clear that they want her here."

Elliot took her hand, linking their fingers as they walked, and he said, "That's not true. I know you didn't think they were gonna start calling you that, and Lizzie said it just came out, but she also said she didn't make a mistake. It's you they want here, Liv. Lizzie...she was calling you 'Mom'. She meant you, Liv. She was talking about you."

Olivia sighed and closed her eyes. "God, that's...that's sweet, really, but it was never my intention to..."

"You never intended to make my kids fall just as in love with you as I am?" Elliot asked, an interruption. "You never intended to make my children feel like they had someone who loved them, and mothered them, and wanted them like a mother should? You never intended to be the most amazing, selfless human being on the planet?"

Olivia, chuckling at him, said, "Okay, so I intended most of that, but it didn't bother you that she called me that?"

"Liv, baby, my heart almost popped out of my chest," Elliot told her with a beaming smile. "It means that this," he said, holding up their intertwined hands, "Isn't upsetting them, and they know that you're...well, I like to think that someday, you're gonna be their stepmom."

Olivia smiled at him as they walked toward the line and the kids. "I think it might be too soon to think about..."

"There was a picture of you behind my wedding photo," Elliot interjected. "I've been thinking about it for years."

Olivia stopped, then tugged on his hand. "El," she said, her voice dropping. "I am incredibly happy with you, you have to believe that, but this is the first time in a long...ever...that I've let myself go this far this fast. I'm terrified, but..."

"I'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow," Elliot said, stopping her.

"Can I finish a damned sentence, please?" Olivia asked, smiling. "I was going to say, but I feel the same way. This is just new for me, ya know? I've never been with someone who didn't give me hives when talk of marriage and kids came up. I'm not used to being this completely secure with a guy. It's scary."

Elliot laughed and pulled on her hand, leading her toward the ride again. "That's how you know it's real," he said. "No one has ever told you that when you meet 'the one', you just know and it's this easy?"

"They have," Olivia said. "And I didn't believe them. Not until I met you," she said. Her words stopped him in his tracks.

Elliot turned around and looked at her. "Yeah?" he asked, smirking.

"I knew it was you, I just tried to convince myself I was wrong, because you were already married," Olivia explained with a shrug.

Elliot chuckled and shook his head. "You know you're always right," he said with a scoff, teasing her.

Olivia smirked at him. "You and I are gonna be great together, Stabler. You already know the rules."

Elliot pulled her toward him and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Ah, see, the rules of dating you are the same as the rules of being your partner, only now I'm allowed to act on all the incredibly dirty thoughts and feelings I get when I look at you." They shared a laugh and another kiss, as they joined the kids on the ride's line.

"About time," Maureen laughed. "We're in the next group they're letting up," she said.

Elliot held his hand, still linked with Olivia's, to his stomach. "Oh, it would have been such a pity if I missed going down a mountain at a hundred miles an hour in a tiny boat-like sled."

"Oh! It would have," Dickie said, nodding. "Since you and Liv are already together, my new goal is to see how long it takes you to hurl on a ride."

"Yeah," Elliot said, nodding. "You are, without a doubt, my son." He turned and kissed Olivia as they and the kids laughed, heading up the mountain.

"Are you sure?" Cassidy asked into the phone. "Well, there has to be something you can...you're coming back tomorrow and they aren't. Do something, Ry! If they stay there alone together...what do you mean you can't? Oh, boo hoo, you saw her hug the kids, are you getting soft on me pal?" He listened for another moment, then rolled his eyes. "Great. They're calling her 'mom' well people lose their mothers all the time," he said. "You know what? Don't then. I will take care of it when they come back." He hung up, then looked up at his partner. "What?" he asked.

Munch shook his head. "Nothing, it just sounded like an interesting conversation."

Brian nodded, then got up. He walked over to Cragen's door and knocked, entering when he was told to. "Hey, Cap," he said, taking a seat.

"What's up, Cassidy?" Cragen asked.

"I was just wondering," Cassidy began, "What would happen if two detective's in the same unit, uh, started dating?"

"It wouldn't be a problem," Cragen said, tilting his head.

Cassidy leaned forward a bit. "What if...what if they were partners?"

Cragen sighed and looked at him. He didn't know for sure how Cassidy knew, but he couldn't let him think he knew about Olivia and Elliot. "Well, they couldn't be partners," he said.

Brian's eyes lit up. "See, that's what I thought, so..."

"Unless they had to be," Cragen continued, cutting him off. "If they're the same rank, and the only two in the division that are, they have no choice. But, uh, if things progress and they get married, well, they can't even work in the same precinct. Conflict of interest becomes a much bigger issue if its that solid of a relationship, and if there are kids involved. Why are you asking?" he asked. "You thinking of taking Munch to dinner?"

Cassidy laughed. "No, uh, Olivia and I...well, I wanted to..."

"Cassidy," Cragen said, folding his arms. "You would be a wise man if you stayed away from Olivia Benson. She has made it clear, loudly and violently, that she isn't interested."

"That's not true, Cap," Cassidy said.

Cragen raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think I missed her punch you before she left, did you?"

Cassidy sighed and got up, headed out into the squadroom, and sat at his desk. He knew there had to be something he could do. He just had to think harder.

The squeaking of the bed in the next room was loud. Very loud. They were trying to sleep, and just knowing what was causing the squeaking made them roll their eyes. "I'll go," he said. He got out of the bed, opened the bedroom door, and yelled, "Stop jumping on the bed! Now! It's two in the morning, and I don't have the money to pay for a broken bed! This is an expensive hotel!"

The squeaking stopped immediately, and he heard a very sincere sounding, "Sorry, Dad!"

Elliot closed the door and rolled his eyes. "Man," he mumbled, crawling back into bed. "Kids are fucking weird."

Olivia chuckled as she wrapped her bare arms around him and melded her body against his, her curves wrapping snugly around him. "Don't blame the kids," she said. "They're just excited. Having a good time. We do that in bed," she said seductively. "I'm just really glad our bed isn't that loud."

Elliot chuckled, kissing her. "Oh, boy, that would be...so wrong," he said, thinking about how he would explain the squeaking coming from his room to his children.

Olivia laughed as she rolled over, letting Elliot envelope her with his body. She fit against him perfectly. "It would," he said. "They would know that we weren't jumping on the bed."

"And I would not wanna tell them the truth," Elliot laughed. He looked into her eyes and he smiled. "They're a little young for that," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, they are," Olivia said. She peered into his eyes, and said the only thing her brain would allow her to say. "Kiss me."

Elliot leaned in and captured her lips. He ran his hands up and down her naked body and held her just still enough to get in between her legs, where he needed to be. He wrapped her legs around him and moved gently, easing into her and flinching only slightly when he heard her seethe. He moved slow, careful not to hurt her or make the bed squeak, and he held her close, kissing her. "Screw Disneyland," Elliot mumbled against her lips. "This is the happiest place on Earth."

Olivia chuckled, meeting his slow and easy thrusts. "Yeah," she breathed. "It is."

A/N: An encounter with Ryan before he leaves, SVU gets a new case, and the last day of their vacation, coming up! Review if you'd like to read it, here or on Twitter: TMG212