It was an unusually quiet morning in the squad room, a week after Rollins' father was admitted to the hospital. Rollins arrived at work and settled at her desk. Carisi had been in Liv's office for the past thirty minutes going over a few last minute things for a trial he was about to begin. When he finished with Liv, Carisi left her office, spotted Rollins and walked over to her desk.

"Hey." he said as he approached her.

"Hi" she replied with a smile as she looked up from her computer. She wasn't expecting to see him this morning, but was always happy when she did.

"I was here going over a few things with the Captain for the Johnson trial. I'm actually due in court soon, so I only have a minute, but I wanted to see how you are doing? Any changes with your dad's condition?" He asked.

"I'm hanging in there." Rollins replied. She paused for a second then said, "As to Jim, well he hasn't really made any progress, but he also hasn't gotten any worse, so I guess that's something. I'm headed to hospital later today."

"Well, I'm glad he hasn't gotten any worse." Carisi replied with a caring look, "Listen, let me know if you need anything, alright?" he added as he briefly touched her shoulder.

"Thanks Carisi," she responded, "I appreciate it." she added.

He smiled at her and nodded his head, 'I'll talk to you later." he said. Carisi started heading towards the elevators and Rollins turned her attention back to her computer. As he waited for the elevator Fin walked into the squad room.

"Hey Carisi," Fin called out to him, "You bringing a plus one to the wedding?" he asked.

Carisi turned towards him, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable.

"Well I um, I thought you were trying to keep the numbers down, so no, I wasn't planning on it." He managed to reply.

"Yeah, it's not going to be huge or anything, but we want the people we invited to have a good time, so if you want to bring Nicole you can, just let me know." Fin replied as he walked over to Liv's office and and knocked on her door.

Rollins looked up from her computer.

"Ok Fin…thanks…I guess I'll let you know then." Carisi stammered.

"Cool." replied Fin, oblivious to the bomb he just dropped. He opened the door to Liv's office and walked in.

Carisi turned to face Rollins who was staring at him and walked back towards her desk.

"Nicole…huh." she said as if asking a question.

"Yeah, listen Rollins." He paused for a second and took a deep breath, "That is actually what I was trying to tell you that day when you got the call about your father."

"You were trying to tell me that you are dating someone….dating Nicole?" She asked matter of factly.

"Yes," he answered, then quickly added, "We have only been seeing each other for a few months. I'm…..I'm honestly not even sure where it's headed, but I probably should have told you about her sooner, it's just….." He didn't finish the sentence, not exactly sure what he should say next.

Rollins looked at him, waiting for him to continue and when he didn't, she broke the awkward silence.

"Well, that's great Carisi, she said trying to muster a convincing smile. "If you're happy, I'm…. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Rollins." Carisi said, relieved that she finally knew the truth. He glanced at his watch, "Listen I really do have to go." he said, "Remember to let me know if you need anything...Okay." He added, as he turned to leave.

"Okay," Rollins replied as he started to walk away, "Good luck in court today." she added a little louder.

"Thank you... I might actually need that luck today." Carisi called back as reached the elevator.

Rollins watched as Carisi stepped onto the elevator and the door closed in front of him. She stared at the elevator door as a feeling of sadness washed over her.

...

For the next month or so things were fairly normal between them. Carisi was there to help Rollins when she moved her father into a long term care facility. They worked on a few cases together and after a particularly hard day in court, Rollins invited Carisi over for dinner with her and the girls, if he didn't have plans with Nicole that was, He said that he didn't and that he would really like that. They had a great evening, as they always did. There were a few nights when the squad would get together for a drink after work and he sometimes had to bow out because he was meeting up with Nicole, but other than that nothing had really changed, except it had.

Rollins tried to tell herself that Carisi had every right to date someone. They weren't together, something she seemed to have to tell people quite frequently. However, if she was being completely honest, the fact that he was with someone else was pretty devastating to her and it forced her to examine why that was. Up until Nicole, it had been easy to avoid dealing with her feelings for Carisi, but not anymore. She knew that she would never lose him as a friend, but was having him just be her friend enough? She finally acknowledged that it wasn't. She wanted more.

...

Fin and Phoebe's wedding day arrived. It was being held at a big loft space on the 30th floor of a building with a large outdoor terrace. Rollins arrived looking the best she had looked in a long time. She rarely had the opportunity really dress up these days and decided to go for it. She looked around, spotted Liv and chatted with her for a few minutes before asking her if she had seen Carisi yet. Liv said that she had and thought he might have gone out to the terrace. Rollins excused herself and started to make her way towards the terrace, saying hello to a few more people, including Fin on the way. As she walked outside, she spotted Carisi, he was standing by himself at the edge of the terrace checking out the view.

"Hey." she called out as she walked towards him.

He turned towards her when he heard her voice and just stared, not saying anything for a moment.

"Wow Rollins…." he finally said, "You.. you look amazing."

"Thank you." she replied with a big smile. She paused for a second then added, " And you Carisi, look as sharpe as always."

"Well, Thanks" Carisi respond, smiling back at her.

"What a beautiful day they got for the wedding." Rollins said as she looked around.

Carisi agreed and they stood there for a moment admiring the view.

"So." Rollins eventually said, "I was hoping I was finally going to meet Nicole today."

Carisi shook his head, "No she's um….she's not coming." He quickly replied.

"Why not?" Rollins asked, "I thought Fin said it was alright to bring her." she added.

He looked at her for a moment and was about to answer her when someone came out on the terrance to announce that the ceremony was about to begin and for everyone to please come inside.

"I'll tell you later." Carisi uttered, "Let's go find some seats." he added.

"Yeah, okay." Rollins replied curiously.

...

After the ceremony, which was beautiful, Rollins and Carisi stuck by each other side. They enjoyed some Champagne and delicious passed appetizers and mingled with their SVU colleagues. At one point Carisi caught a glimpse of the sunset out of one of the loft windows and turned to Rollins.

"Hey you want to go back out on the terrace and check out that sunset before dinner is served?" he asked her.

"Sure," she replied "I could used a little fresh air." she added.

They made their way back out to where they were standing earlier.

"Good call Carisi." Rollins said as they took in the sunset and its reflection off of the buildings in lower Manhattan. "It's pretty stunning."

"Yeah." he agreed. He paused for a second then added, "You know, we spend day in and day out in this city, working hard and it's not often that we stop to admire the views."

She turned to look at him and said, "That is very true."

He felt her eyes on him and tuned to look at her. "What?" he asked with a quizzical look.

"Nothing," she replied with a smile, "I'm agreeing with you."

"Okay." he said, slightly suspiciously, as he retuned her smile.

She looked at him for a moment longer then asked,

"So, are you going to tell me why Nicole didn't join you today?"

He looked away for a second before saying "Yeah sure." He paused, looked back in her direction and said, "Nicole isn't here because…. I actually ended things with her a few days ago."

Rollins felt her heart rate quicken ever so slightly. "Really…why?" she asked.

Carisi looked at her intently and said,

"Because, I didn't think it was fair to continue seeing her when…. when she's not where my heart is."

Rollins took in what he said and searched his face for a second before asking pointedly, "Well, where is your heart then?"

Carisi closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. He stepped a little closer to her before answering. He looked so serious and Rollins suddenly felt a little nervous.

"I think you know where my heart is, Amanda." He finally said locking eyes with her.

Rollins stomach fluttered and she felt her eyes teared up a bit. They stared at each other for a moment before she nodded her head and said,

"Yeah, I actually think it might be the same place my heart is."

Carisi felt his heart start to pound in his chest, "Wait, what are you saying?" he questioned.

It was now her turn to take a deep breath, which she did, then she answered him, "I'm saying that you are the best person I know Dominick and... I want to be with you, if that's what you want?"

"If that's what I want?" he repeated with a little laugh, "That is what I have wanted for so long now."

"Okay then." she replied with a smile, as she leaned closer to him and put her hands on his chest.

He was at a loss for words for one of the first times in his life, though words really weren't necessary in this moment. He smiled back at her, lowered his head and held her face with both hands. She quickly closed the remaining gap between them and their lips...at long last...met.

The end.

Authors Note: Thanks so much for reading! Fingers crossed for some Rollisi movement before the season ends!