A/N: IT'S DONE! IT'S DOOOOONEEEE! *dances* Boo-yah! I bet you guys almost gave up on me, huh?! But, I promised I would get it finished - and here it is! Thanks for all the praise and encouragement, you guys have been great. Please let me know your final thoughts. I'll be putting up the appendix with the Bensler songs shortly. ?

Rating: K+

Spoilers: None, really.

Disclaimer: Not mine! Dick's!

Talisman: Postlude

Fresh cut grass, one cold beer/Thank the Lord I am here and now, here and now/Summer dress, favorite park/Bless your soul, we are here and now, here and now/I'm wide awake, so what's the point of dreaming when your life is great?/Celebrate the feeling, celebrate the feeling/Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay … - Be Okay, Oh Honey

With the level of commotion in the house, El thought it a miracle that he heard the knock at the door at all. "Don't worry - I'll get it," he said with an amused roll of his eyes.

"You two thought you were so smart."

"Cap'n," Elliot flashed a smile at his former squad captain, motioning him inside. "You made it! Been a while." He shook the older man's hand.

Donald Cragen couldn't stop a smile in return. "You two always thought you had the whole squad fooled, didn't you?" he teased.

"Not you, Sir," El told him, "never you."

Two years had passed, since Olivia had been shot in the basement in the dark. Elliot's divorce finalized, and once his house with Kathy had sold, he convinced Liv to move to the suburbs. They had bought a cozy three bedroom, where Noah had his own room, and Liv had a home office – where she worked, more often than at the precinct, nowadays.

One Summer evening, after they'd introduced Noah to the pleasures of catching and releasing fireflies, Elliot had repeated his question. And Olivia had agreed to be his wife, on paper and in name.

Which is how he found himself in his boisterous household, on his second wedding day. With Captain Cragen, whom he hadn't seen in person in over a year. "We're glad you're here, Cap'n," El said. "We got some club soda on ice for ya in the kitchen, if you want."

"You can call me Don, you know," the older man said, following along behind Elliot to the kitchen.

"Yeah that's . . . not gonna happen," El chuckled, shrugging in apology.

"Where's Liv?"

"In the bedroom, getting ready with Rollins, Melinda and the girls," El replied. "But Fin is around, and Munch is out back, with Noah, teaching him all about how marriage is a conspiratorial institution, I'm sure."

Cragen shook his head. "You let Munch around children? Sounds like my mission is in the back yard. S'cuse me, Stabler."

El watched him go, out through the back entrance to the deck and yard, grinning. For some time now, nostalgia had been a welcome visitor, but it still felt so surprising when it came.

ii.

Olivia had insisted on a small, mostly informal wedding – which was fine by Elliot, who had little to no interest in another long-winded Catholic ceremony. They had settled on an intimate affair, in their back yard, with just squad friends and family; it seemed the most appropriate, for El's second marriage, and one that would carry the two fifty-odd-year olds into their golden years.

All of El's kids had come, and he was proud and delighted to have them all under one roof. Kathy had opted not to come, but things between them were friendly, and she had sent along her well-wishes. Liv's squad was in attendance, and Nick Amaro had come up from Florida. It felt organic, natural.

Elliot opened a cold beer and headed for the back door, stopping briefly to double-check his appearance in the hall mirror. It had been too many years out of formal wear, and the shirt scratched at his skin, making him extra restless. He was reaching for the handle to the deck door when he heard Kathleen's voice:

"Dad – wait a sec!" He turned to his daughter, who met him across the floor, reaching for his tie. "You never could keep your ties straightened for very long," she muttered, fixing it to her satisfaction. When she was done, she leaned back to find him grinning at her. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You look beautiful."

"Pfft. Dad," she waved him off, her nose wrinkling like she was still 13 and he had cooties. "Whatever." Still, she smiled in spit of herself. "Liv's just about ready – is Captain Cragen here?"

"Yeah," Elliot motioned toward the back door with his beer, "in the yard."

"'Kay, can you send him up? Thanks Dad." She kissed his cheek quickly and went back toward the bedroom, in which - Elliot was sure – wedding day mysteries and miracles were both conceived and born.

The Summer afternoon was exhaling softly toward evening as he stepped out onto their back deck. Around their fence that lined the backyard hung strings of fake sunflowers, that Elizabeth had helped put together. Makeshift rows of lawn chairs were set up, facing a lattice-arch, which was the only thing they had disagreed on spending money over. El saw Noah, rough-housing with Eli, and Munch who was now deep in conversation with Fin. Cragen was near the table they had set up for the food, sipping his club soda and making polite conversation with Carisi.

"Your mother's going to kill you if you mess up that suit," he said to the boys, passing them on the way to the Captain. "Cap – Liv's askin' for ya."

"Guess I'm up!" Cragen said, his nerves showing a bit. Carisi clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly, smiling.

"How about you?" Carisi asked El as they watched Cragen go back to the house. "Ya nervous?"

Elliot chuckled, swigged his beer. "Is it obvious?"

"Nah, Nah," Carisi shook his head. "I was just . . . you know - "

"Relax, Carisi. It's fine. We'll talk about nervous after you ask Rollins to dance."

iii.

Liv heard the bedroom door creak open, and the women gathered around her spooked and fluttered like seagulls. "We'll be just outside," Amanda told her, and ushered everyone into the hall, leaving just Donald Cragen standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey, Captain," she smiled. It had already been along day, and she fought off a yawn, despite her adrenaline.

"Olivia," he smiled.

"I'm so glad you could come. "

"Well, you know, it's not every day that I get the honor."

Liv blushed. "Thank you, for agreeing to walk me down the aisle."

Her mentor and former boss stood up a little straighter, smoothed his hands over his suit jacket. "I'm dressed the part, so . . ." he winked, then sobered. "It's my pleasure, Liv."

Olivia stood up from her spot on the foot of the bed, setting her glass of champagne on the nightstand. "So?" she spread her arms, "How do I look?"

Donald Cragen swallowed hard, hoping that she couldn't see the glisten of tears in his aged eyes. "Olivia, you look . . . wonderful." She swished across the floor to him, the cloud of silk and lace that she was, and folded the man into a hug. "Are you ready?" he asked her softly. "Any last confessions?"

She sniffed, chuffed a short laugh. "Confessions are Elliot's area, not mine."

"Can't ask El to confess – the wedding'll never get started!" the Captain told her.

iv.

Olivia found the early evening unusually quiet as she stepped near to the back door. If she concentrated, she was sure she would even hear the ice, settling in the kitchen as it melted around bottles and cans. She'd specifically requested that 'Here Comes the Bride' not be played, and so, as the Officiant was welcoming everyone, Liv was acutely aware of every noise: Bodies shifting in lawn chairs, Elizabeth whispering to her kids to settle, the strings of sunflowers rattling against the fence.

Then Amanda, Melinda, Kathleen, and Alex Cabot were headed across the deck. Soon it would be Liv's turn. Cragen, beside her, offered his arm, smiling warmly. "May I?" he asked. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, and Olivia's heart swelled.

They stepped out onto the deck.

v.

Elliot turned at last, as Barba tapped him on the shoulder. His blue eyes grew wide, then swam with tears against his every control. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but whatever it had been, it was far beyond just an underestimation.

She caught the light in all the right ways, appearing to glow as she approached him, and it was precisely then that he realized how nervous he truly was. Not about the ceremony, but about . . .

vi.

. . . the possibility that they would mess it all up, Olivia was thinking as she was watching Elliot's handsome face and the nerves visible in the flex of his jaw. Then, there she was. Cragen was taking her arm, placing her hand in Elliot's. She saw Noah, squirming and grinning in his suit, looking up at El the way he had everyday since they met in that coffee shop nearly two and a half years ago.

As El's fingers closed around hers, her inner cacophony stilled. Her nerves, her over-stimulated senses, the pound of her heart. Their eyes met, and the gaze held. Curiously, she realized it felt just like . . .

vii.

. . . the day they met, Elliot mused.

"Detective Stabler," the ghost of Cragen's voice spoke, "I'd like to introduce you to your new partner. This is Olivia Benson."

She had smiled at him, all shiny newness, untouched by the horrors of SVU. He had reached out a hand, to shake hers. Partners, for better or worse, he'd told her not too long after. Elliot came out of his reverie, from the image of their first handshake to their hands entwined in front of everyone they loved.

"For better or worse," he whispered, and they smiled at each other.

viii.

Funny, how many things had changed over their years, Liv was thinking, as they took a deep breath and faced forward. And how so many things . . . stayed the same.

"Friends," the Officiant began, "family. I am pleased to say, we are all gathered here today . . ."

End