I wonder what Cragen will decide? Thanks for your reviews!

EOEOEOEO

Elliot and Olivia sat down, and Elliot reached over and snagged Olivia's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Cragen noted the gesture and he knew that things had already changed between his two favorite detectives.

He leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat, looking back and forth between the two. Olivia looked over at Elliot; they hadn't really talked about how they were going to tell him.

Elliot took a deep breath. "Cap'n. " He couldn't believe this was so hard to say. Maybe it was because he knew that whatever he said had the potential to change his entire life.

Cragen sat up and stopped him by putting up his hand. "I know what you're going to say. I don't want to hear the details."

Olivia let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Captain…we didn't mean for this to happen."

Cragen looked at Olivia. "Olivia, I've watched you two over the past 8 years. Everyone else saw what you two wouldn't. I can't even imagine how many bets are riding on the two of you." He shook his head. "I have constantly worried about how close you two were, wondering if it would impact the job. But I never saw any evidence of that. I mean, there was a lot more fighting and bullshit with all of the tension between you two, but you're still two of my best detectives." He sighed. "That's what makes this so hard." He looked up at Olivia and saw the apprehension in her face. "I'm guessing you two have…" he paused, not sure how to put it. "Taken things to the next level." Olivia could feel herself blushing slightly. "But I'm not really sure how that would impact your ability to work together. In some ways, some of the bullshit and tension between you two will be gone. And you still are both great detectives; good at your job. I trust your judgment."

Cragen stood up and walked around the side of the desk, sitting against the edge of it. "The reality is that there isn't a strict regulation about relationships between partners. It's severely frowned upon, due to potential judgment issues etc., but not forbidden unless you're married." He paused. "You didn't get married, did you?" he asked.

Elliot smiled. "No…" He wanted to say more, but left it at that.

Cragen put up his hand. "OK then. I have been faced with this potential decision for years, and yet I never thought it through…I didn't want to have to think about splitting you apart."

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other. They felt like they were in court, waiting for the final verdict on some critical case.

"Let me ask you something." Cragen continued. "IF..and I said IF, I let you stay together as partners, do you think you can still work together?" Elliot started to talk but Cragen put up a hand again. "And do you think you can keep your personal relationship out of the squad room? That means no PDA, no pet names, no sneaking off to the cribs…"

"Cap'n!" Elliot said.

"Elliot, I have been watching you watching her for 8 years. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it." He reprimanded. "And if you have, I don't want to hear about it." Olivia felt herself blushing again.

Cragen looked back and forth between the two. They looked at each other and then back at the Captain and both said "YES." simultaneously.

"OK, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you a month, after Olivia's back, to prove to me that you can still be partners without your personal relationship getting in the way. I'm going to switch you out with Fin and Munch more often, just to give you a break and make it easier. Easier on you and them, and easier if I end up splitting you up. I also think it's only fair to let Fin and Munch know what's going on, but I will give them the same warnings I'm giving you. They need to keep the locker room humor to a minimum. I don't need 1PP to know about this. Or God forbid, IAB."

"I thought you said there was no strict reg Cap'n." said Elliot. If that was the case, he wasn't sure why IAB would be on their case.

"IAB has had you two under scrutiny for a long time. I don't to give them any reason to look at you again or to force me into another decision."

Elliot nodded.

"Are you two OK with my conditions?" Cragen asked, looking back and forth between the two again. Olivia nodded and Elliot joined her.

"Thanks Captain." Olivia said, standing up. She wanted to hug him, but stopped herself.

Cragen smiled. "Liv. I don't want to see you back here again though unless I see a signed clearance form from the doctor."

"Got it." She smiled. "But Elliot will be back tomorrow. He's driving me crazy."

Elliot started to object, but realized he probably did need to get back to work.

"Captain. Are you going to talk to Munch and Fin, or did you want us to or?" Olivia asked.

"That's up to you." He said.

Olivia looked at Elliot. "Maybe we should go out for drinks after work and tell them then." Olivia suggested.

"I think that's a good idea." Said Elliot. "Let's tell them to meet us on our way out."

They both got up and thanked the Captain again and headed out of his office. Fin and Munch looked up as they walked out, the Captain trailing behind them.

"Everything OK?" asked Munch.

"Yeah. I can't come back to work without a note from the doctor." Said Olivia, trying to look disappointed.

"You knew it was gonna be like that baby girl." Said Fin. "You'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, I guess." Said Olivia.

"Hey" said Elliot. "Liv wants to get out of the house so do you guys want to meet us for drinks later?"

Fin shrugged. "Sure. I don't have any plans."

"Sounds good to me." Said Munch.

"OK. Meet us at Maloney's around 6."

"OK Stabler, but you're buyin'" said Fin.

Elliot nodded. "I figured I would be. See you guys later."

Elliot and Olivia walked out, and waited for the elevator. As the doors opened, Olivia saw Casey inside. Casey was looking at a file and didn't see her friend until she almost ran into her.

"Liv!" she said with a big smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Just talking to Cragen about coming back to work."

Casey frowned. "You can't be coming back already, right?"

"No. Guess not. Cragen won't even let me do desk duty without doctor's clearance."

"OK. Good." Said Casey. "Well, I have to go talk to Fin and Munch about this case. I'll call you later."

"Actually" said Olivia. "I wanted to talk to you about something. Can we have a few minutes when you're done?" Olivia looked over at Elliot, but he understood. Casey and Olivia were friends, and she would want to tell her personally before she heard it from Fin or Munch.

Casey nodded. "Sure. Just give me a few minutes."

"Great. I'll meet you up in the break area." Olivia said and Casey walked into the squad room.

Olivia turned back to Elliot. "Are you OK if I talk to Casey?"

"Yeah, I understand. I'll just wait for you."

"El. It's OK. I'll just grab a cab back. I don't know how long I'll be."

"No Liv. You're not taking a cab back. I'll just go get some work done and we'll go when you're done. Take your time. Lord knows there's plenty of paperwork on my desk."

Olivia wasn't going to fight him. She could tell he was in overprotective mode and that she wasn't going to be able to change his mind. She smiled. "OK El." They walked back into the squad room, parting ways as Olivia headed up the stairs to the break area. She got a bottle of water and sat down, trying to figure out how to tell Casey what had happened.

Casey appeared about 15 minutes later. She sat down across from Liv.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

Olivia ran her hand through her hair, trying to choose her words.

"I need to tell you something, but I need you to keep it between us, at least for now."

Casey's eyes widened and she leaned over the table. "Oh, it must be something juicy." She said, a smile plastered on her face.

Olivia looked away. "Not really."

"Hmm. Fine." Said Casey, leaning back in her chair, clearly disappointed.

"So what is it then?"

Olivia looked back at Casey. "Well, I'm seeing someone. And it's kind of gotten serious really fast."

"What? I didn't know you were even dating anyone! You've been holding out on me. I can't believe it! I tell you about every guy, every date. And now you have a serious relationship and I haven't heard one word?" Casey ranted. "Who is it? Is it someone I know?"

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "I think you know him."

Casey's eyes glittered. "Let me think."

"Casey…"

"No! Let me guess." Casey wracked her brain. She couldn't think of anyone…"Hold on. It isn't Trevor Langen, is it?"

"God no!" said Olivia.

"Well, he is cute." Casey said.

"Casey…"

"One more guess…" Casey said.

Olivia was losing her patience. "For God's sake, it's Elliot!" Olivia blurted out.

Casey got a shocked look on her face. She stood up quickly and slammed her hands on the table. "Shut the fuck up!"

Olivia stood up quickly, shushing her friend. "SHHH!"

Casey stood there speechless, looking at her friend. "I can't believe it." She sat back down hard. "I really can't believe it. You two finally…" She put a hand up to her mouth. "OH my God. You slept with Elliot!"

Olivia opened her eyes wide. Casey was still talking too loudly. "Shhh."

Casey leaned back in her chair, still surprised beyond believe. "It's about fucking time." She said, smiling at Olivia. "So? How was it?"

"Casey!" said Olivia, a little shocked. Casey was always an open book, telling Olivia everything about her liaisons, but Olivia was a little more private. And would be even more so not that it was Elliot they were talking about. "I'm not going to have this conversation." She put her hands up to her face.

"Liv. You're blushing! I can't believe this." Casey smiled devilishly. "It must have been good."

Olivia groaned and put her face in her hands. "Case-I'm in so deep. I'm scared shitless. This is moving so fast."

"Liv. I hate to break it to you, but you guys have been drooling over each other for as long as I've known you. And that's a long time."

"That's not true!" protested Olivia.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Whatever Liv. Live in the land of denial but we all knew it was coming. We just didn't know when." She winked at Olivia.

Olivia shook her head. "Was everyone in the entire squad betting on when Elliot and I would sleep together?" she said, horrified at the discussions that were going on behind their back.

"Well, not everyone…" Casey said. "But I do need to know the exact date you and Elliot hooked up; in case I'm the winner."

Olivia groaned. "If you win, I get half."

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot was sitting at his desk when he heard the outburst from Casey from the break area. Fin and Munch jumped when they heard it. "What the hell is that about?" asked Fin.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders. "Girl talk I guess." He smiled. He guessed Liv had told her.