Hey beautiful people.

So...I'm sad to say that this is the last proper part of Keeping Promises. I have one more bit to post - an epilogue - and I'll probably post that tomorrow or Monday. I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported this fic...the funny thing is, it was meant to be only a 2 or 3 part story, but I just couldn't let it go; had to drag it out. Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed this and again, thank you.

Well...enjoy xoxo

Keeping Promises

Part 25

The weekend passed pretty quickly – too quickly for anyone's liking. Olivia's Friday shift of work without Elliot wasn't too bad; a great chunk of the day was spent tying up loose ends for other open cases they had and chasing a few leads here and there, but nothing too strenuous. She had gotten a good laugh at one point when she and Fin had to go to the Homicide Unit and Detective Eddie Green gave her an overly dramatic hug and thanked her for finally taking a leap with Elliot and making him over three hundred bucks richer. It seemed that news of her and Elliot was spreading through the department like wildfire, and everyone seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief about it as they were happy that the two had finally taken the leap. Most people gave her smiles and a lot of others told her that it was about time. Cragen called her into his office before she left on Friday and told her to just keep it out of work, but that he was happy for them as well.

She spent most of the weekend at Elliot's – back and forth between there and her apartment. Friday night they and the kids had dinner together and watched movies, then Saturday they all went out together – minus Maureen as she had been at work. They did some shopping and simply enjoyed each other's company, and Olivia was just glad to be out with Elliot in public, holding his hand loosely. They were still taking things slowly and testing the waters, but the shift in their relationship was still a welcome change and really, they were happy. She went back over on Sunday and helped with Sunday dinner, which they all happily enjoyed together. For once, Olivia felt like she was part of a real family and it was a welcome change, a warm feeling. Despite things going on in her life, she knew she'd get through it with these amazing people – her family.

Monday rolled around and it was back to normal for the most part; Elliot picked Olivia up at the normal seven o'clock time and by seven-thirty – even after they'd run into a bit of rush hour traffic – they found themselves strolling into the precinct, laughing together with their cups of coffee in hand. Fin immediately stopped their laughter by announcing that Tucker was in Cragen's office waiting to see Elliot, and the blue-eyed detective immediately exchanged a glance with his partner before putting his drink down and retreating into the office of his Captain. He shut the door behind him and shook hands with both men before stuffing his hand into his pockets.

"Detective Stabler, your suspension has been lifted as you know," Tucker spoke as he leaned against Cragen's desk; "And I'll also have you know that you won't be facing any charges; you're all clear."

Elliot nearly choked on the air as his eyes went wide. He immediately looked at Cragen to see if there was a catch, but the seasoned police captain shook his head and held out the gun and badge, which Elliot immediately took into his hand. He looked between both men as he holstered his weapon and secured his badge to his belt.

"I um…I just don't understand…" he paused slightly before continuing; "Not saying I'm not happy about this, but I at least expected to face something and-"

"We did some digging; Harris has been doing this for years," Tucker interrupted him, putting his hand up; "Ashley Tyler wasn't his first victim, neither was Risa Tyler; he's got a lot of murders and bodies attached to him – he's done. He's escaping the death penalty, but his ass isn't getting out of prison."

Elliot nodded as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Lowell Harris may not be seeing justice for what he did to Olivia, but justice has still come through in some sort of way and now, the man was done – gone for life. Elliot didn't realize how much of a weight that would be off of his shoulders, and while he knew it would be a weight off of Olivia's shoulders as well, he knew she still had a ways to go. Tucker didn't know the full extent, and Elliot sure as hell didn't plan on telling him that.

"Well, I'm glad the prick is done for life, and at least Ashley Tyler won't have to be retraumatized by him again." Elliot remarked.

"Yeah," there was a pause, then Tucker spoke again; "By the way, thanks to you and Benson for making me two hundred bucks richer." He smirked at him, and Elliot laughed a bit as he shrugged.

"Look, me and Liv know what the rules are and-"

"I won't know a thing unless I have to know, which means your jobs better not be jeopardized by this between you," Tucker warned him; "This doesn't mean I won't still have your asses if I need to, so don't fuck up anything."

"We'll just annoy you like we always do." Elliot replied. Tucker rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, then after shaking their hands again, he bid them farewell and left out. Elliot shut the door behind him again and looked to his captain;

"Okay Cap, what did it cost ya?"

"Nothing, they told you only one day and that one day was Friday," Cragen perched himself on the edge of his desk; "Look, you're a good cop Elliot and what you did was justifiable…I think we all would've done the same thing, for Ashley and her mother, for Harris's other victims…for Olivia."

Elliot nodded, swallowing hard; anything for Olivia.

Elliot thanked him and shook his hand before heading back out of the office and into the squad room. He looked around at his fellow detectives; the four of them had immediately looked up with raised eyebrows.

"All clear; got my gun and shield back," he spoke as he removed his jacket and sat down; "And looks like Ashley and Risa weren't his only victims. The prick is going away for life."

The others all cheered and exchanged fist bumps, but Olivia had looked up in disbelief. Elliot looked over at her and saw the glistening tears in her eyes, and he immediately smiled at her as he softly spoke;

"It's over, baby."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, smiling at him. She wiped away the tears that had threatened to fall before nodding her head, and Elliot gave her a sweet, supportive smile as well.

The next couple hours passed pretty slowly; they took advantage of the fact that no new cases had come in, which meant it gave them time to follow up with some victims for upcoming court cases

"Benson, Stabler," Cragen came flying out of his office with a pink slip; "Novak wants you to meet her and Langan at Rikers; apparently Richardson wants to confess and make a deal."

Both Elliot and Olivia rolled their eyes at the sound of their problematic client; a serial pedophile they had collared recently. They stood up and grabbed their coats and coffee cups, then Elliot snatched up the keys to the sedan before they then filed out of the squad room together.

For now – until they were finally done saving the city – they were the NYPD's dynamic duo of Benson and Stabler.

After an hour long meeting which saw their problematic client confess to everything he had done and cut a deal with the DA's office, Elliot and Olivia had finally returned to the precinct. The two had just stepped out of the car and were walking up the steps to the doors, when they heard a familiar voice;

"Detective Benson!"

They both turned and were shocked yet pleased to find a now much healthier looking Ashley Tyler racing towards them. Elliot remained standing at the door, but Olivia stepped down onto the side walk and met Ashley halfway. Olivia was just glad that she looked a lot better than when she'd last seen her almost a week earlier now; the young girl was dressed in jeans and a sweater underneath her coat, and a pair of sneakers.

"Ashley…hey," Olivia gave her a sweet smile; "I was actually gonna call you when I headed back in. What brings you by?"

Ashley paused for a moment, then she spoke in a quiet voice; "Captain Cragen called me actually. Is it true? Is he going away for life?" There were glistening tears in her eyes, and Olivia knew that they were waiting to be shed, most likely out of pure relief. She placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder and nodded as she tried not to cry herself;

"Yeah, it's true. He confessed to your rape and your mother's murder, and several other rapes and murders. No death penalty, but he's going to jail for the rest of his life."

She then placed both hands on her cheeks, looking into the glistening brown eyes of the young girl;

"He will never hurt you or anyone else ever again."

Ashley suddenly broke down and fell into Olivia's arms for a hug as she sobbed, and Olivia wrapped her arms tight around her, allowing her own tears to finally escape as well. She pressed a light kiss to the top of Ashley's head and rocked her slightly, giving her as much comfort as possible as she knew that it was what the young girl needed.

Hell – it was what she needed.

Lowell Harris was gone. He was never getting out and would never hurt anyone ever again.

The two stood there hugging for a couple more minutes before finally pulling apart. Olivia wiped Ashley's tears away with her thumb before giving her a soft smile. Ashley smiled back and nodded her head, letting out a breath.

"Thank you, and thank you too," she nodded her head at Elliot before looking at Olivia again; "And thank you for believing me, and not giving up on me, and I'm so sorry for acting the way I did…for doubting you."

"Don't worry about that, it's okay; and I would've never given up on you," Olivia assured her before cupping her cheek; "Now you know what I need you to do? I need you to heal, to fight like hell to do something amazing, and to make your mother proud – prouder than she already was. You are going to survive this; I promise."

"I promise I will…I promise you, and I already promised my mother," Ashley nodded and hugged her again; "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome." Olivia replied. She let go of her and whipped out one of her cards, before scribbling her cell phone number onto the back; "My cell number is on the back. If you ever need anything, even if it's just to talk, give me a call anytime."

Ashley nodded, finally smiling at her. She waved to both of the detectives before wandering off, and Olivia watched her for a bit before taking a deep breath. She knew the path to healing would not be easy for any of them, but it was a path that they – especially she herself – was more than willing to take. It would probably be a long time before she was properly herself again because she knew that things hadn't fully hit her yet, but she would be okay in time, and Ashley would be too.

She looked up and saw that Elliot had come up beside her now. He slipped an arm around her waist and tucked some of her hair behind her hear, gazing into her sparkling brown eyes. She looked up into the swirls of cobalt blue and saw love, compassion, and safety all swirling together, and she felt her heart take flight. Elliot had always been there, had always been everything she ever needed. It was a shame that it had taken a tragedy to bring them together, but now that they were together, there was no stopping them. There was still a lot of healing to go for the both of them, but they would lean on each other and heal together, like they always did.

Partners for life – in every sense of the word.

She slid her hands up and lightly held onto the lapels of his suit jacket, before leaning in and giving him the sweetest kiss on the lips. She felt it all – the love, the urge to protect, the desire – everything that had always been between them.

Now, it was manifested into one kiss.

They pulled away after a few moments and simply stared at each other. He then smiled and kissed her nose, before grabbing hold of her hand;

"Come on, let's get inside – get through this day."

"Yeah, let's do it." She nodded, squeezing his hand as they headed back inside. As they stepped onto the elevator together, still loosely holding hands, she couldn't help but think back to that day over three months ago, when she made that promise to Kathy to take care of Elliot and the kids. She sighed out and knew that Kathy was watching them all and she approved of this; she could feel it.

This was more than okay.

She was taking care of Elliot and the kids and little did they know, they were taking care of her too.

The promise had been kept this long and would continue to be kept for the time to come.

The End.

Thank you guys! Leave some feedback and all that; it's greatly appreciated. Again, epilogue will come tomorrow or Monday! Until next time xoxo