A/N: Learning from the tears and the mistakes. We're not perfect but we've come such a long way (Soldier - James TW)

DISCLAIMER: SVU and all related plot/characters originally belong to Dick Wolf. This story is allllllllllllllll mine. © TStabler

"Your honor," Eric Stevenson smiles as charmingly as he can and eyes the judge almost placatingly. "I have submitted several key pieces of evidence that speak, not only to Kathy Stabler's emotional state but her willingness and ability to manipulate and deceive…"

"If you have a point," Judge Laramie holds up both of his hands, "Please get to it." He lifts up the wide bell sleeve of his black robe and checks his watch. "I am doing this as a favor to Judge McCarthy, and I do have a million other things to do, so please, make your statement so I can rule." He peers at the young attorney and flattens his lips.

Stevenson clears his throat and tugs on his suit jacket. "Detective Stabler is, forgive the pun, the stabler parent, here, Your Honor. He is more gainfully employed, he is able to provide each child their own room, he is more than willing to work out any and all visitations with their mother, and I don't think I need to remind you that my client is the injured party, here." He holds up a beige folder. "I also took the liberty and asked each child who they prefer to live with, and they unequivocally and unanimously replied that they are the most comfortable and the happiest with their father." He smiles. "And finally, Your Honor, while Kathy Stabler has quite vocally ascertained that she will be forced to raise the children as a single mother if this divorce is granted, which would be a great disservice to these beautiful children, Detective Stabler will not be struggling to handle things by himself. He will have help from his brother, Dillon, his sister, Caitlin, and full-time support and partnership from Detective Olivia Benson."

"Excuse me?" Kathy's voice rises as she stiffens and glares at the lawyer. "What the hell did you just say?" She turns sharply to Elliot and shouts, "You're letting that tramp move into the house with you and my children?"

"Order!" Laramie slams a gavel down once, "Order!" He bangs the gavel again, and then he points to Kathy. "You will control yourself in my courtroom, Missus Stabler! Another outburst like that, and not only will I throw your entire counterclaim out the window, but I will hold you in contempt!"

Kathy's lawyer snorts. "This is a divorce hearing, Your Honor, you can't…" he sees the way the judge is looking at him and he retreats, sinking low and folding his arms, crinkling his blue suit.

Satisfied that he has control over his courtroom, the judge glares at Stevenson and points a finger. "As for you, I've already made my decision, so your vapid tirade was pointless." He glances down at the paperwork in front of him, hums a bit, and then eyes Elliot. He frowns slightly, shifts his gaze over the redwood table until it lands on Olivia. He frowns some more. He lifts a hand to his head, rubs and scratches, and says, "It's not yearly salary or living arrangements that pushed my decision over the edge." He holds up a piece of paper. "It is the blatant disregard for boundaries and lack of respect! This statement from Captain Donald Cragen is abhorrent, Missus Stabler, and frankly, anyone who will stoop to such lows and blindside another human being out of sheer jealousy. Now, I have been on the declaring end of a number of messy predicaments, but never as low and deplorable as attempting to attack someone's retirement account out of sheer spite!"

Kathy's eyes widen as her lawyer sinks lower in his seat. "Your Honor, I…"

"I hereby declare the marriage between Elliot Stabler and Kathy Stabler officially terminated, with full custodial guardianship of the children granted solely to the father," Laramie slams his gavel down twice and points it at Elliot. "All possessions and assets obtained during the course of the marriage must be liquidated and split between you by the end of the month, you will both receive copies of this decree within thirty days." He waves Elliot and Kathy up to the bench to sign their agreement and then leans back in his chair.

Olivia watches them, part of her feeling relief and pride, another part feeling intense guilt and remorse. She can't blame Kathy for anything she's done; she would go through hell to the ends of the earth to keep Elliot now that she had him, and it only stands to reason Kathy would stop at nothing, either. She stands when Elliot beckons her to him and she smiles when he kisses her.

"It's over," he whispers, and he kisses her again. He knows Kathy is watching but he doesn't hold back, he brings his hands up to Olivia's face, cupping it as he kisses her once more. He nudges her a bit and then drops one hand to take hers.

"No, it's not," she whispers back to him, and she pulls her hand down the length of his green tie as she says, "It'll never be over. She's the mother of your children, and she will always be trying to find a way back to you...to bring you back to her."

Elliot squeezes her hands and says, "She can try all she wants, it'll never happen. You know that. O know you know that." He kisses her again, slower and deeper. He can feel Kathy staring after them as they walk out of the courtroom, and it puts a bit of swagger in his step. He thanks the judge and then his lawyer, grabs his coat and Olivia's, and bundles them both up to head out into the cold evening. His shoes land with clear clicks along the tile, his right hand moves down to Olivia's ass and rests against it as they walk. He leads her out into the long hallway, the paintings and wall sconces line the walls and garner their attention as they move.

When they're here for work, they never have the time to look around, so now that they seem to have all the time in the world, they're taking in the museum-like courthouse. For the first time, they notice the moldings on the corners of the walls are hand-carved faces of cherubic angels. Each wing of the place is paneled with a different shade of wood, the benches are marble and wrought iron, and the ceiling is painted with what seems to be an almost heavenly mural, similar to Michaelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel with a darker tone.

They make it through the front doors, and right there, in the middle of the bustling city, at the top of one of the highest most in-view stone staircases in the city, Elliot turns fast, lifts Olivia into his arms, and spins her around as he laughs and kisses her almost victoriously.

She can't help but laugh as well, and when he sets her down again, her arms are around his neck and she's looking into his eyes. She sees her whole world staring back at her, her life in his eyes. "Ya know," she says, dragging her fingertips down the nape of his neck as she gives him a wantonly tantalizing look, "You're officially single now. You could go out there and…"

"I'm not single," he shakes his head, but the smile never fades and he pulls her closer, wraps her tighter in his arms. "I'm deliriously and fantastically happily married, to the most incredible woman on the planet, and I am never going anywhere. Baby, I am right where I belong." He kisses her again, moans against her soft lips, and he doesn't move or mind when the whistles and cat-calls from passersby hit his ears. Instead, he chuckles and thinks to himself They're just jealous because he knows anyone looking at them now doesn't have a love like this at all.

She pushes him away, though she honestly doesn't want to. "We can't do that here," she says in a low voice, and suddenly her eyes are shifting around to look for anyone she recognizes. "We work…"

He sighs, holds up one hand, and says, "Yeah, I know. Work." He blinks once and grabs her hand again, and he pulls her down the steps as he hums to himself. They're on the last step, ready to head left to Olivia's apartment, but his phone rings and he shuts his eyes. "I swear to Christ, if it's Kathy…" he mutters, shoving his left hand into his black pants pocket to find the device. He answers it without checking the screen, a bad habit he's not even sure he has, and he snaps, "You heard the judge, it's done, and I…" he stops, he lets go of Olivia's hand and rubs his forehead, and he closes his eyes as he speaks again. "Sorry, Cap. Yeah, yeah, my favor. Thanks to you, I mean if you didn't lend me the…" he pauses to listen to Cragen reprimand him, and he laughs. "Okay, not a loan. Right." He shoots a look at Olivia then. "Right here, why? All night, she was...um, a character witness, what's this about?"

Olivia sees the way his jaw tightens, the vein in his neck pops out and pulses; it only does that during sex or moments of extreme rage. She squeezes his hand and lets out a heavy gasp when he pulls her into him with great force, wrapping her tightly to him with his free arm. "What's going on?" she asks, but she doesn't get an answer.

"No, uh, my brother took them over to the house, we were just…" he swallows the lump in his throat. "We were just heading over there to pick up a few things, but you…" he kisses the top of Olivia's head silently and brushes her hair back. He looks down, into her eyes, tears in his, "What kind of damage are we talking about?" He listens and though he lets out a sigh of relief, he holds her even tighter. "Okay, uh, no...I will...I'll take her to the house, just...keep us in the loop, here, okay? Thank you, Cap." He inhales slowly and exhales again. "For everything."

She watches him move as he hangs up. There's a thick silence between them as a breeze kicks up and makes his long trench coat flutter around him, and she immediately thinks he looks like Batman. After all, he is her hero. She feels the chill hit her skin beneath her jacket and she shifts in his arms. As though he knows, and he probably does, he runs his hands up and down her arms slowly. "What did he say?" she finally whispers.

He shakes his head, closes his eyes again, and kisses her, again unconcerned with who may or may not be watching them. "Cragen," he sighs, pulling away, "Told me that a, uh, bomb was found in your apartment." He raises a halting hand before she gets too overexcited and says, "It didn't go off, baby, they just...found it, disarmed it, no one got hurt, nothing was damaged." He runs the pads of his thumbs under her eyes and smiles as lovingly as he can. "He sent Tucker over there to check on the place because...one of those Vidocq guys, um…"

"Just tell me," she prodded, his hesitation making her anxious. The breeze picks up again, the dead leaves swirl at their feet, she takes a deep breath and realizes it smells like it's going to snow. "What is it?"

"One of the guys in lockup told Lake that he planted two bombs, hoping to kill a serial rapist he'd been after for months. Said he got the addresses directly from a federal source." Elliot rolls the tension out of his neck and grips Olivia's arms tighter, the first few flurries beginning to fall around them, and he says, "Lake went right to TARU to see if the tip was good, one address did belong to a guy on the list of suspects in a string of rapes all around the state," he bites his lip and lets out a small whimper. "The other one was yours. The bastard wanted…"

"You think…" she starts, and she pauses, shaking her head. "No, he doesn't want to hurt me, that's…"

"He knows we've been staying there," he interrupts her. "Me and the kids. If he's been watching us, then he knows, right now, Dillon would be there with the kids. He wasn't trying to hurt you, baby, he was trying to…"

"Hurt the kids!" she gasps, one hand covers her mouth and the other digs into his side. "Oh, my God."

Elliot kisses her again, and he grins smugly. "He fucked up, baby. He didn't expect us to nail the son of a bitch, and he didn't plan on anyone giving up his name. Now that we did...and they have…" his eyes darken, he lets out a slightly evil laugh, and he says, "We can bring his ass in on a conspiracy charge, and this time, we'll make it stick." He kisses her one last time, and then he pulls her to the right, in the direction of their new house, where he hopes to calm his nerves, spend some time with his kids, and celebrate his slight victory the only way he knows how.

With Olivia.

A/N: Olivia and Elliot get some alone time in the new house as Cragen has a chat with Agent Porter. Fireworks all around.