AN: Hello everyone. Here it is, as promised. This will be the final installment of this series. This story, technically, can be read without reading the others first. However, if you want a clear understanding of all the characters and their relationships, I'd strongly advise reading the other two stories, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number and The Road to Happy, before reading this one. As always, I love getting feedback from you all so leave your comments/reviews below. If you have suggestions and/or ideas for where you think the story should go, you can share those thoughts as well. Be honest, but please be respectful. If you like the story, tell me. If you don't like it, tell me that too, but please tell me why and I'll do my best to fix it. Saying "This is dumb" and nothing else is not helpful. I hope you all enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Here we go!

Disclaimer: This will be my one and only disclaimer for this story. I do not own SVU, its stories, or any of its characters. They belong to Dick Wolf, SVU writers, and NBC. I retain ownership of original storyline and characters.

Chapter 1: The Answer

"The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you would be an important part of my life" Olivia said with a shaky voice. Even though she'd gone over what she'd say again and again, she was full of nerves. This would go on a list of the most important events of her life. She wanted to get it just right. "I've never been more in love with anyone as I am with you". Araeyah sat and quietly listened to Olivia as she kneeled in front of her. Her eyes, misty with tears, occasionally darted around the room. Seeing everyone staring at them made her a little self-conscious but she did her best to ignore them and focus on Olivia. "You're the strongest, smartest, most genuine, kind, loving person that I know. You've made me stronger, kinder, and more loving. You've made me a better cop and a better mother. You've made me a better person. I haven't done anything to deserve you but I'm so happy you chose to be with me. I know how lucky I am to have you and I don't ever want to be without you. I want you….to be in my life….for the rest of my life. I am the happiest, luckiest woman in the world. I would be even luckier and so much happier….if you were my wife".

She paused for a moment as she took on last deep breath and opened the box holding the ring that she'd picked out for her girlfriend. It was a seven carat black gold diamond ring. The black band was decorated with a black diamond in the center and a spiraled arrangement of silver diamonds going halfway down each side of the band. Rae's hand came up and covered her mouth when she saw how beautiful the ring was. It looked like one she would pick for herself if she ever went shopping for jewelry. It was perfect. Her eyes welled up even more and a lump formed in her throat. She had to take deep calming breaths to control the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm her.

"Araeyah Aiyana Drisana Nikahd" she said using her full name. Rae had talked to Olivia about switching back to her father's name now that Charles was no longer a part of her life. Olivia said she should do whatever she wanted and she would support her decision. "Will you marry me?" she said finally asking the question she'd planned the entire trip to ask. Araeyah took a breath and took in the moment. She looked around the restaurant at the people still staring at her and Olivia, at the waiter who hadn't stepped too far away from the table, the plate still covered in red and yellow roses, at the ring being presented to her and finally at the woman she loved kneeling in front of her. She blinked back her tears and swallowed another lump threatening to form in her throat before nodding her head.

"Yes" she said weakly, barely finding her voice through the emotion she was trying her hardest to hold back. Olivia let go of a breath she'd been holding while waiting for Rae to answer. She moved into her and connected their lips in a sweet and loving kiss. The restaurant erupted in applause from other patrons as they watched the couple in their moment of celebration. When their kiss ended, Olivia removed the ring from the box and placed it on Rae's finger. She stood up and pulled Rae to her feet before kissing her again then wrapping her up in her arms. A lot was going through Rae's mind as she held onto Olivia. Her life had changed so much since they'd met and not in any ways that she could've imagined. If anyone had asked eighteen year old Araeyah what she'd be doing at twenty three, engaged with a child would not have made the list. But she loved Olivia and she did want to spend the rest of her life with her. Still, she couldn't get rid of the feeling in the pit of her stomach; the thought in the back of her head. Both of which, at some point, she'd have to share with Olivia.

When they finally parted, Rae laughed when she saw Olivia's face. She'd managed to keep her own emotions in check but Olivia had lost her own battle. She wiped the tears that were streaming down her face for her and then tidied her runny makeup. She kissed her one last time before retaking her seat. Olivia walked back over to her side of the table and sat down. The waiter stepped to their table and congratulated them. They both thanked him, especially Olivia since he'd been such a help to her.

"It wasn't a problem" he said nicely. "And now I'll go get your real dessert" he said taking the plate with the flowers from in front of Rae and walked away the table. There were still some eyes on them but most of the other diners had turned their attention back to their meals.

"I can't believe you did all of this" Rae said a bit embarrassed by the attention from everyone. "This whole trip, it was so you could propose?" she asked. Olivia smiled and nodded her head. "You didn't have to go to all of this trouble. I didn't need any of this".

"It wasn't any trouble" she said quickly. "And I know you didn't need it". She reached across the table and took her hand, caressing the new resident on her third finger. "I just wanted it to be special" she explained. "Do you like it?" she asked referring to the ring.

"Yes" she said without hesitation. "I love it. It's beautiful" she said looking down at her hand as Olivia's fingers went back and forth across her new piece of jewelry. She brought her eyes back up to meet her now fiancé, "I love you" she said softly.

"I love you too" she said back. Olivia and Rae released each other's hands and pulled them back when the waiter appeared with their desserts. He set their plates in front of them along with a new bottle of wine then left them to enjoy the last portion of their meal.

Olivia told Rae how she'd talked to her mother and asked for her approval before proposing. Rae was glad to hear that her mother was happy with the idea of her and Olivia getting married. She knew she wasn't supposed to, because it was their vacation, but she couldn't help mentioning Noah, how much she missed him and how she wondered what he was up to with her mother. People stopped by their table on their way out of the restaurant to congratulate them. A few women checked out her ring and complimented her on how beautiful it was or how Olivia had done well picking it out. Once Rae had enough of all the attention they were getting, she asked if they could call it a night. Olivia agreed, not only because she'd had enough of the attention as well, but because she was ready to head back to the hotel and do some more celebrating in private. Once the bill was taken care of, they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand, saying their last thank yous to the congratulations they received on their way out. Olivia drove them back to the hotel and they walked, still hand in hand, up to their room. They made their way to the bed, undressing each other as they went. They each took their turn making love to the other, paying special attention to all of their favorite parts of one another, before collapsing in each other's arms. They fell asleep, both completely happy and completely in love with one another. Neither of them felt that things could be any more perfect in that moment.

Rae woke up the next morning to the feeling of Olivia's lips trailing kisses across her shoulder. She smiled as the kisses moved up her neck to the soft spot that drove her wild. She moaned softly, eyes still closed and heavy with sleep, as Olivia lightly sucked on her neck. She slowly woke herself and turned over to face her fiancé. Fiancé. That word still felt weird to her to think. She was sure it'd feel even weirder once she said it out loud. Her eyes now open, she looked up at Olivia who smiled down at her.

"Good morning beautiful" she said softly. Rae smiled and a light blush colored her cheeks.

"Good morning" she said back. Olivia leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "What time is it?"

"Nine thirty". Rae groaned and buried her face in Olivia's neck. "I know" she said feeling the same as her fiancé. Their flight out was at twelve thirty and they hadn't done any packing. If they stayed in bed any longer they might miss their flight home. After a few more minutes of snuggling under the covers, they both got out of bed. They shared the shower to save time, got dressed, and started packing up their things. By eleven fifteen they were checked out of their room and on their way to return their rental. They got a ride to the airport from the rental agency, went through airport security and made it to their gate as soon as their flight started boarding passengers. They were both sad to leave. They had a lot of fun on their vacation. But they were excited to get back home to their son and share the news of their engagement with their family and friends.

When their flight finally landed and they exited the plane, they picked up their luggage and headed out to find a taxi. It never ceased to amaze Rae how they could return with so much more luggage than they left with. When she complained, Olivia reminded her that she was the one that'd bought almost all of the extra items they'd returned with. She'd bought a ton of stuff for herself and Olivia and Noah. And of course they couldn't leave without getting something for everyone else too. Rae called her mom and told her that they were home. She offered to pick them up but she said they'd take a taxi home, drop off their luggage and then come to her house to get Noah. They hurried out of the airport and hailed a cab and made their way home. They hauled their luggage up to the apartment and decided to unpack before they got Noah so they didn't have to take time away from him to do it later. Once they got everything put away, they headed out of the apartment to her mom's house. Rae used her key to let them in. When they got inside, they could hear music coming from Noah's play room. They walked towards the sound and peeked into the room. Soraya saw her daughter stick her head into the room.

"Noah, look who's here" she said pointing towards the door. Noah stopped playing on his keyboard and turned to look in the direction her finger was pointing. "Who is that?"

"Mama" he answered with a big smile. Rae's smile back was even bigger. She stepped fully into the room, kneeling with open arms as her son hurried over to her.

"Hi my Noah bear" she said excitedly. She wrapped him in her arms and hugged him tight, kissing him on his head. Olivia stepped into the room behind her and Noah pointed at her.

"Mommy" he said still smiling.

"Hey little man" she said happily. Noah went to her and held out his arms. She picked him up and placed him on her hip. "How ya doin'?" she asked before giving him a kiss. "We missed you". Rae went over to her mother and gave her a hug.

"Thanks again for keeping him, mom".

"Of course" Soraya said with a smile. "I'm always happy to have him here".

"So he was ok the whole time?" she asked. "His asthma….."

"He was just fine" she assured her.

"Good" she said with a nod.

"So, how was the trip?" Soraya asked looking back and forth between them. Olivia put Noah down on the floor and he went back to playing on his keyboard. She walked over and stood next to Rae.

"It was great" Rae answered, "we had a lot of fun. Ice skating and we went to a theme park, sight seeing…." She said going through the list of things they did on their vacation. "Got engaged" she added holding up her left hand to show off her ring. Soraya beamed with happiness for her daughter as she pulled her into a hug. She hugged Olivia next and congratulated them.

"It's beautiful" Soraya said as she got a closer look at Rae's ring. "You did an excellent job" she said looking to Olivia.

"Thank you". Soraya went over and kneeled next to Noah.

"Did you hear that Noah?" she said softly. "Your moms are getting married". Noah laughed and continued to play his music. "Think he understands?" she asked looking up at her daughter and her fiancé.

"Probably not" Rae said with a laugh.

"You should stay for dinner" Soraya said getting up from the floor. "James will be home soon. You can tell him the news". Rae looked to Olivia who nodded her head.

"Ok" she agreed.

"Great" Soraya said happily. "Ah, look at you, my love" she said taking Rae's face in her hands. "If your father were here to see the woman you've become" she said getting emotional, "and the life you're living, he'd be so proud".

"Mersi" Rae said with a little mist in her eyes. She kissed her mother on one cheek then the other before she left her and Olivia alone with Noah to go decide what to cook for dinner. Rae and Olivia sat down on the floor and watched as Noah went from toy to toy in his playroom. He finally went over to the bookshelf and pulled down his favorite book. It was a book that taught different animals and made the animal's sound every time a page was turned. He brought it over and handed it to Rae before climbing on her lap and settling down.

"Coo" he said pointing to the book cover.

"Yes that's a cow' Rae said with a laugh. Olivia scoot over so that she was behind Rae and let her lean back against her chest while Noah leaned back against Rae's. She opened the book to the first page and started to read. Noah made the sound of every animal along with the book. An hour later, when Jimmy got home, they were still in Noah's play room. He walked in and saw them still sitting in a row, Rae leaning against Olivia and Noah in Rae's lap, and smiled from ear to ear.

"Hey" he said getting their attention. They looked up saw him standing in the doorway.

"Hey" they both said at the same time.

"How was Washington?" he asked.

"It was good" Olivia answered. "Really good".

"You bring me anything?" he asked eagerly. They both laughed.

"Yes, of course" Rae said shaking her head. "It's in the car".

"Can I go get it?"

"No" Rae said getting up from the floor. "You can have it after dinner". Olivia got up and picked Noah up, sitting him on her hip.

"So what'd you do in Washington?" he asked. "Spare me the sexy details" he added. Rae scoffed and playfully shoved him out of the room.

"Shut up" she said with a laugh. "We, well, we went ice skating and to theme parks and sightseeing. All the normal tourist things that people do when visiting cities".

"Ok. That's cool" he said as they walked over to the living room and sat on the couch.

"And….." Olivia said prompting her to tell him the most important part of their trip.

"And…..we got engaged" she said happily. Jimmy's jaw dropped.

"No way" he said in disbelief. Rae nodded her head and showed him her ring. "Holy shit" he said when he saw the diamond.

"James!" Soraya yelled from the kitchen, "Watch your mouth".

"Sorry" he said embarrassed. Rae and Olivia tried hard to stifle their laughter at him being scolded. "Wow, congratulations. I'm so happy for you both. And you too Noah" he said poking at his side. Noah laughed at being tickled. He'd brought a book from his play room and was standing at the coffee table, turning pages as if he were actually reading. "So when's the wedding?"

"Oh, we haven't talked about that yet" Rae said quickly. "But we already know who our ring bearer's gonna be don't we" she said leaning forward giving Noah kisses. She got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. "Mom, when's dinner gonna be ready?" she asked hovering over her shoulder.

"Just a few more minutes Araeyah" she said shooing her away.

"Ajaleh kon. Man goshneh am" she said impatiently. (Hurry up. I'm hungry)

"Don't rush, azizam. Go sit down" she said pushing her out of the kitchen. She went back over and picked Noah up.

"Let's get ready for dinner buddy" she said taking his book from the table. "Mom says it'll be ready in a few minutes" she said looking at Olivia and Jimmy. They both nodded and got up from the couch. Olivia took Noah's book from her and went to put it back on Noah's book shelf. Rae took Noah to the bathroom and started to wash his hands.

"I can't believe you're getting married" Jimmy said closing the toilet lid and sitting down next to her.

"Well, it's not gonna be tomorrow". She finished washing Noah's hands, dried them and then sat him on Jimmy's lap so she could wash her own.

"I know that" he said putting Noah in a comfortable position. "But you….. getting married…."

"Did you think I would never get married or something?" Olivia stopped just outside the bathroom when she heard them talking about Rae getting married.

"No" he said quickly. "I mean yes, but just…."

"Just what?" she asked encouraging him to go on. She took Noah from him and they switched places so he could wash his hands.

"Just not to her that's all" he finally said.

"Why not?" Rae asked interested in his reasoning. He shrugged. She mockingly shrugged back.

"I mean, I don't know. It's just….Olivia".

"Mommy" Noah said hearing her name.

"Is Olivia your mommy?' Rae asked in her baby voice. "She is isn't she?" She stood up from the toilet and sat him on her hip, kissing him on the cheek. "We're not done talking about this" she said looking at her brother. Olivia walked into the bathroom as she was about to walk out.

"Mommy" Noah said pointing at Olivia.

"Hey little man" she said leaning down giving him a kiss. Jimmy finished washing his hand and walked out of the bathroom behind his sister. Olivia went in the bathroom and shut the door, wanting to take minute to process the small part of the conversation she'd just heard between her fiancé and future brother in law. She wondered what Jimmy meant when he said he thought Rae would never marry her. Her train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Liv dinner" Rae called through the door.

"Ok, I'll be right there". She finished washing her hands and left the bathroom to join her family for dinner. She sat at the table between Rae and Noah who was already making a mess with his food in his high chair. Olivia filled her plate with food as Soraya and Jimmy fired away at her and Rae with questions about their wedding. There was a lot of shrugging shoulders and "we don't know yet". When Rae couldn't keep up with their questions anymore she told them to stop.

"We just got engaged yesterday. We haven't planned the wedding yet. We just want to enjoy the engagement for a while. Right babe?" she asked looking to Olivia. "Babe" she said nudging Olivia to get her attention.

"Hum?" she mumbled snapping out of her trance.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah" she said with a nod. "I was just thinking. But yeah" she added, "enjoying the engagement for a while sounds good". They finished dinner with casual conversation between them. Rae noticed that Olivia was unusually quiet. She didn't understand where her current mood had come from. She seemed to be somewhere else. They finished dinner and then Olivia and Soraya played with Noah in his toy room while Rae got their gifts from the car. She gave one to her mother and then went downstairs to give one to Jimmy. While she was down there, she finished her conversation with him about why he thought she'd never marry Liv. They came back upstairs and played with Noah in his play room a while longer before deciding it was time for them to head home. They packed up Noah's things and said their goodbyes then headed home for the evening.