The captain peeked his head out of his half open office door. Elliot and Olivia quickly let go of each other's hand and stepped away from each other.
"Now." The captain repeated, firmer this time. They slowly walked into his office, both of them worried about what might happen now that every one in the precinct knew about them.
"Captain," Elliot started, but Cragen cut him off.
"Don't. I knew this would happen eventually. I mean come on," his mood was lightening now, "You guys are perfect for each other."
Elliot and Olivia both gave him blank stares. This isn't at all what the two expected.
"Do you guys think you can stay partners? If you can't stay professional during your shifts and IAB finds out about you guys, it's my ass and yours."
"We can do it." Elliot said. Olivia nodded in approval.
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. I'll give you two weeks. If I see any more of that sneaking kisses, coming in holding hands stuff I'll switch you guys up with Munch and Fin."
Olivia and Elliot stood in front of their Captain, too shocked to say any thing. How did he figure out what they did that day? Olivia let out a small smile and tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Now go. They found a body in Central Park. 24 year old rape victim. Go talk to the witness who called it in, see if they can tell you anything." Cragen said.
Elliot was the first to move, and he was quickly followed by Olivia. When Elliot opened the door, he was less than shocked to see Munch, Fin, and Casey's ears pressed against the glass. The three smiled and then just walked away. Elliot and Olivia looked at each other and just walked away with smiles on their faces.
When Elliot and Olivia got in the car to go to Central Park, neither Olivia nor Elliot could conceal their excitement.
"We can stay partners…" Olivia said, not sure if she was simply stating it or trying to convince herself.
"I know. I can't believe it."
"I'm so happy."
"So am I, Liv. So am I…"
"I can't believe they all bet on us getting together!" Olivia said with a wide smile on her face, laughing a little.
"They could tell how we felt about each other. They knew it was just a matter of time."
"Was I really that obvious all these years?" Olivia asked playfully?
"Nope. But I sure was… How could I help myself? There was this beautiful woman who knew me better than anyone else in the world and that I trust my life with. A woman that I spent more time with than I did my ex-wife. A woman that I knew loved me too, but wouldn't say it because she couldn't. But after I got divorced, I didn't have to hide my feelings anymore, and I wasn't exactly trying all that hard." He said the last part in a very playful voice; making it obvious just how much he loved her. Olivia blushed. She loved when Elliot told her how much she meant to her; it made her feel so special.
"Yeah, well, can you imagine how hard it was to hide my feelings that I've had for you for the last 6 years?"
"Yeah. I had to do the same thing." Now, all she could do was smile.
They rode the rest of the way in silence. Both of them were thinking about how happy they were that they didn't have to keep their relationship secret. They just had to be very careful. No more sneaking kisses. No more pretending to go to the Crib to sleep but really going to cuddle with each other. No more carefully planning when they would enter and leave the building. This was going to be hard, and easy, at the same time, if that was even possible.
When they finally got to Central Park they were both about to get out of the car when Elliot said, "I love you, Liv." It was perfect. He said it very softly and in a way that there was no way it wasn't sincere. Olivia could tell he really meant it, more and more every time he said it.
"I love you too, El."
They got out of the car and started walking towards the crime scene. It took them every ounce of self control they had not to lace their fingers together. They could do this, the whole "Professional" thing. It would just be hard. Really hard.