A/N: "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…something else entirely."
DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.
Olivia smiled through the day, humming to herself without realizing. She was murmuring the tune she and Elliot had chosen for their wedding song, and Elliot heard her doing it. He would smile and send her long glances, wondering how he'd become so lucky, and how it was possible to be so happy.
It was Fin, though, who accidentally put a damper on their bright moods. "Will you stop that?" he asked, his voice gruff. He scratched at his chin and narrowed his eyes at her. "Some of us are tryin' to get some actual work done. I can't think with you warblin' like that."
Olivia raised an eyebrow, grabbed her coffee mug, and sat behind her desk. "Sorry," she hissed, giving Elliot an annoyed look.
Elliot shrugged, not sure what was wrong with Fin. "She's happy," he said, addressing his friend. "What's wrong with that?"
Fin glared at Elliot. "She can be happy without hummin', can't she? Damn annoying."
"What the hell…look, what crawled up your ass today, huh?" Munch asked, leaning over toward his partner's desk. "You've been snapping at every…"
"I haven't gotten any sleep," Fin said, interrupting Munch. "I haven't slept in days. It's like this baby's made it his life's work to make me miserable."
Olivia folded her arms. "Fin, babies cry."
Elliot scoffed. "Yeah, they do. If I add it up, my kids kept me awake for about ten straight years," he laughed, "And eventually I'm gonna be up all night with another one."
Olivia smirked at him, but Munch chuckled. She looked at the elder detective and folded her arms. "What's so funny?"
"You and Stabler," Munch began, "Having kids. Any child the two of you have is gonna be trouble. More attitude than humanly possible, more guts than any kid should have, a wicked temper, and a shady family history. Not to mention…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elliot asked, biting his bottom lip. "Shady family history? You're not seriously bringing up…"
"Just saying that the kid is gonna have issues when he's gotta do that family tree project in third grade," Munch butted in, looking away from Elliot. "Big, full branches on the Stabler side, and two teeny twigs on the Benson side. Didn't really think about…"
"Don't make me punch you," Elliot threatened, gritting his teeth.
Olivia, though, simply shook her head and sipped her coffee. "He's right," she said quietly. She rose from her seat again, making the trip back to the coffee table to put her mug in the sink, and she ran a hand down her face. She wasn't sure why Munch had said it, but the words were ringing in her ears.
Elliot shot a glare of death to Munch as he got up, walking toward Olivia, and he rested a hand on her lower back. "He's wrong," he whispered to her. "None of that matters," he said, "And yeah, our kids are gonna be little hellions, but we're ready for that, right?"
She turned her head and gave him a small smile. "More than ready," she said with a nod.
"As long as we raise them right, which we will, things are gonna be great for them," he assured her. "Yes, them," he said, rolling his eyes at the expression on her face. "I want more than one with you, Liv."
She let her face relax into a bigger smile, a warmer one, and she said, "You've told me. I just still can't believe you."
He shrugged. "Before our first kid is out of diapers, we'll have two in college," he reminded her. "We can just keep replacing the ones that leave," he joked, brushing her hair back. He grinned when she laughed and he asked, "Dress still fit?"
"Like a glove," she said, winking. She brushed a hand over his shoulder lightly, then moved back toward her desk. She sat, picked up a pen, and got to work on the paperwork she had as she ignored Fin and Munch.
She was too preoccupied with finally being happy to let either of them upset her, especially three days before her wedding.
The night wore on, the calls came in, the victims were uncooperative, and the evidence was almost nonexistent. Dragging on, wearing them all down, the case took its toll. It made Munch more irritated, it made Fin more pissed off, and it made Olivia and Elliot more desperate for their weekend wedding, which would be followed by a weeklong cruise and several days on a private beach.
They were standing close, staring at the white board filled with photos and documents, clearly confused as they tried to connect the dots. "What are we missing?" Elliot asked, running a hand back and forth across his chin.
"A motive," Olivia said, rubbing her eyes. "A suspect, and a crime scene," she added, annoyed.
"Funny," he mumbled, nudging her with his elbow. "Look, this is a dead end case, why don't we call it a night, we'll stop somewhere, get some dinner."
She raised an eyebrow. "You know Cragen would never…"
"Liv, if I stay here for another minute, I'm gonna punch someone," he said as the hand on his chin swept over his head. "I can hear them, and they're driving me crazy."
Olivia turned, looking at Munch and Fin who were complaining about the way Elliot had run the case, about Olivia's mood, and about Cragen's lack of authority for the last few days. "They're both dealing with a lot, El," she said with a sigh. "Fin's got a baby in the house for the first time, remember he wasn't really there with Kenny. Munch is getting married, again, and he's worried it'll end like all the others. They're just…"
"That's not a reason to…" He shook his head and sighed. "I'm getting married again, too, I'm probably gonna have a baby for the first time in years sooner than expected. I'm scared out of my mind, nervous as hell, but ya know what? I have never been happier." He lowered his voice and spat, almost angrily, "I'm fucking happy, baby. If marriage or a child doesn't make you happy, if it all makes you fucking pissed off and grumpy like the two of them, then there's something wrong."
She eyed him for a moment, then she whispered, "For someone so happy, you just got pretty damned angry."
He looked at her blankly for a second, and then his face broke into a grin, and he chuckled. "That right there," he said, wagging a finger at her. "That's why I'm so happy about all of this. You always make me smile, you know just what to say and do and…"
"Oh," she said, holding up a hand and looking away from him, "Don't smile or laugh too loudly. You'll just piss them off even more. Keep your happiness to yourself, huh?"
He chuckled again and rolled his eyes, then looked back at the white board. "Where do we go with this, though? We have nothing to go on."
"This might be just one of those cases that goes cold, no matter what we do," she told him, yawning.
"Or maybe you two just need to be pointed in the right direction," Cragen said, popping up behind them, seemingly out of nowhere.
Olivia and Elliot both looked at him, surprised, and Cragen handed them a slip of pink paper. "What's this?" Olivia asked.
Cragen smirked. "Melinda got an ID on the vic, and that is her address. Go." He watched the pair leave, then turned to Munch and Fin. "And if you two wanna complain about me, either do it to my face, or make sure I can't hear you."
Munch shot Fin a stunned look, then buried his head in his paperwork. This week was going by too fast, and he was not happy about it. Not at all.
"Do you hear that?" Elliot asked, his voice barely a whisper as he and Olivia rested on their couch, snuggled under a soft blanket.
She looked up at him, confused. "I don't hear anything," she whispered back.
"Exactly," he laughed. "Silence. Finally. After the night we've had, everything is finally quiet."
She laughed and said, "Nice, isn't it?"
He nodded as he kissed her sweetly and said, "We should enjoy this while we can." He looped his arms around her and pulled her closer, holding her tighter under the blanket. He dropped his head back and sighed. "Just relax before this weekend. Saturday is gonna come fast, and it's it gonna be pretty damn crazy."
She kissed his stretched out neck, and he responded with a moan. She raked her nails over his chest and nipped at his earlobe, and she whispered, "But pretty damn amazing."
He hummed and gave a small nod, running his hands up and down her back as they kissed softly.
"Did you mean it today," she questioned, pulling away from him for a bit, "When you said you would be happy if we had a baby?"
He squinted, then raised one eyebrow very slowly. "Yes," he told her. "Why? Are you…you're not…"
"No," she said with a chuckle, loving the brief panic she'd caused. "But I know you, and I know what we're gonna be doing on that boat. A whole week with no work, no kids, no interruptions. And then on the island, another week of nothing but us and some really amazing satin sheets," she told him.
He laughed and said, "Yeah, you're probably coming home pregnant." He kissed her lips with a smirk on his own, chuckling softly. He pecked her skin with more soft kisses, reaching her shoulder as the doorbell rang.
Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Who the hell…"
"I got it," Elliot interrupted. He moved her gently off of him and sighed as he made his way to the door, swung it open, and gasped.
"Hello," the man said, smiling.
Elliot ran a hand down his face, shocked. "Hi," he said, unsure of what else to say.
"Can I come in?" the man asked, expectant.
Elliot gave a short nod, moving aside. He let the man into the living room, and he looked cautiously at Olivia. "What are you…what are you doing here?"
The man sat on the couch and leaned back. "I heard you were getting married. I had to come and congratulate you," he said. "And of course, I have to stick around to see the bride in her dress. I'm sure she's gonna be beautiful."
"She is," Elliot said. "Did you…I don't think you were actually invited, though…so…"
"Oh," the man said, smirking, "I'm actually going as someone's date."
Olivia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "Who the hell asked you to go to our wedding, Brian?"
Brian Cassidy, a former friend and colleague, grinned. He gave Elliot a smug look as he said, very boldly, "Kathy."
A/N: Aw, Kathy had to know what she was doing, right? Wedding…NEXT! Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212
