Chapter Seventeen

"We've got him," Munch exclaimed as he walked back into the squad room. He had just been to forensics regarding the George case. With this new evidence, he was certain that they could secure a search warrant for their rapist/killer. He proudly handed the data to Elliot.

"Are you sure?" Fin questioned. "You've said that the last three times you came back from forensics," he argued. "What makes this one any different?" He wanted to believe that they could solve this case, but he doubted this evidence could do them any good.

Elliot shrugged as he placed the report down on his desk. He started putting on his coat. Although the weather had been unbelievably weird, today was definitely a cold day. He started zippering up his jacket. He really hoped Olivia knew how cold it was. It was only getting colder as the day progressed.

"Apparently Elliot says it's different," Munch responded to his partner's question. "See, he's already off to get a search warrant from Novak."

Elliot shook his head. "Sorry," he said smugly as he handed the report to Fin. "I'm off to meet Olivia at Dr. Carhart's." He smiled. "Besides, Casey's going to be busy all day. Court appearance for the Miller case and new positions in the D.A.'s office."

Munch's eyes lit up slightly at the first half of Elliot's statement. The latter half was lost on him. "You can find the sex of the baby with this appointment, can't you?" he asked in an overly eager tone of voice. Casey had tricked him into raising their bet from twenty dollars to thirty. Fin was still not in on it, but Munch had a feeling he would be soon.

"Why?" Elliot asked as he eyed Munch suspiciously.

Munch shrugged as he started walking over to Cragen's office. "Oh, no reason," he answered smoothly.

"Someone had too much coffee," Fin attempted to explain.

Elliot rolled his eyes. He did not really have time to worry about this. He had to get up to the OB/GYN's office quickly. Olivia would probably already be waiting. He did not want to leave her waiting. It would just be rude. He grabbed the keys to his car and rushed out of the station.

"Hey there, beautiful," Elliot said as he snuck into the waiting room. He wrapped his arms around Olivia's shoulders from behind her. She was adorable. He kissed her neck before he let go of his embrace and took the seat next to her. He grasped her hand and looked into her eyes. "How long have we been waiting?" he asked curiously.

Olivia sighed heavily and glanced at her watch. "Well, I'VE been waiting for fifteen minutes, but YOU just got here, and have therefore been waiting for about fifteen seconds." She crossed her arms grumpily over her pregnant bulge. "What took you so long?"

"Phone call with Novak," Elliot answered. "And last time I even showed that I owned a cell phone in this waiting room, the other pregnant women in our great city looked like they were about to kill me," he added. "Plus Munch was being weird before I left the squad room."

Olivia shrugged. "Well, Munch is always kind of odd." She rested her head on Elliot's shoulder. "What'd Casey want?"

"Something about the new Bureau Chief," Elliot answered. He smiled. He knew he should not keep Olivia in suspense. Of course, Olivia did not know there was any reason for her to be in suspense, but still. He wanted to be able to surprise her. After their appointment, he would.

Olivia shrugged. It did not sound too important. Casey probably just wanted to complain that she would have to be working under another person she did not like. She could listen to Casey complain later. Right now, she had a baby to provide for and a wedding to plan. That alone would keep her busy until she went to asleep. "Thought of any good places for the wedding?" Olivia asked.

Elliot shrugged. "All of the really romantic-as-hell ones I wanted were already booked," he started. He had to get Olivia to drop the subject. He had the perfect place picked out. There was a deposit down so that he and Olivia could have it. He actually made the reservation the same day he bought her ring. It was perfect. He knew she'd like it. He just had to surprise her. He rubbed Olivia's shoulders gently. "We'll find something, sweetie."

"Do we have to have the wedding in April?" Olivia asked back. "That's really soon, Elliot," she pointed out. "Plus, it rains in April, and we're never going to find a good place."

"Well, if you don't want an April wedding, we don't have to have one," he assured her. "But your due date's in May. It'll be hard to find a good date for you to be available after that." He sighed as he continued looking at her. There was this look of desperation and hopelessness upon her. He hated it. He had to make her feel better. "Besides, I think I got a good place," he mentioned. "You'll love it."

Olivia's mouth dropped open. This was certainly surprising. A good surprise, but still surprising. She should have known Elliot would have a place in mind. He had been hesitant to talk about the actual location of the wedding. He cared about how many people they were inviting, what time they wanted the wedding, the band, the catering, and the flowers. The things a good place for a wedding would want to know. She knew she could trust him. Things were going to be ok. She leaned her head up towards him and kissed his lips. "I love you," she whispered.

"And I love you," Elliot answered back. "That's why we're going down to check it out after the appointment."

Olivia smiled. "You're a good man, Elliot Stabler." She sighed again. "Well, if this place is so great and we have it for the first weekend in April, then we'll need a guest list ASAP."

"Well, we're not inviting that many people, are we?" Elliot asked her. "I thought you wanted this to be small. Family and close friends. Plus, obviously the wedding party."

"Of which we are still lacking a best man," Olivia pointed out, almost crossly. "Come on, El. I've had Casey and Warner as bridesmaids from Day One."

Elliot nodded. "I know, I know," he told her. "I just can't decide if I want someone from SVU or one of my friends from the army or something." He smiled and rubbed his fingers over her cheek. "I'll have one for you, Liv. I promise."

Olivia said nothing more about the issue. They needed a guest list. If they could not come to an agreement about the wedding party, at least they could get a guest list going. "Who else do you think we should invite?"

Elliot shrugged. "I suppose some friends from the precinct, the D.A.'s office, the army."

"Goren and Eames?" Olivia suggested. "Alex and I have been getting closer as a result of this whole pregnancy thing."

"Sure," Elliot agreed. He smiled at Olivia. His eyes darted to her stomach again. "Hey, do we want to know the sex of the baby?" he asked. "I think there's somewhat of a bet going on back at the squad room. Munch was just to eager to know."

Olivia chuckled. "Let's keep them waiting," she noted. "Besides, I don't really want to know. You can say I'm old-fashioned, but some things are meant to be surprises."

Elliot and Olivia finally left the office a little before noon. The baby was healthy. That was all that mattered. They declined to know the baby's sex. Olivia breathed in the fresh air as she stepped outside. "That was long," she stated.

"Hungry?" Elliot asked her as he wrapped his arm around her and began leading her to his car.

"Starving," Olivia answered. "And I want Chinese food. I don't care if it's crappy food-court style Chinese, but I need it." She opened the door to the passenger side of the car and crawled in. Luckily, the car had been sitting in the sun for the past hour and a half, so it was nice and warm inside.

Elliot crawled into the car from the other side. He closed the door and started the ignition. He scanned the streets for the closest mall or Chinese restaurant. It took him nearly half an hour to find a good place to eat and parking, but Olivia did not care. In the end, she got her food. That was the important thing at the moment. Lunch took almost an hour with the service of the restaurant. During that lunch, they pretty much finalized the guest list. It took ten napkins, but they did it.

As they exited the restaurant, Elliot received a phone call. He smiled at the number. He could not risk Olivia overhearing him, so he sent her ahead to heat up the car. He wanted to go back to pick up dessert for later. That was his excuse, so now he needed to buy food. Chocolate cake, he decided. Olivia always craved chocolate.

Once Olivia was out of hearing range, Elliot looked at his phone. He had missed the call, but he could call her right back. "Hey, are you ready?" he asked. He smiled as he ordered the cake. "That's great," he said. The cake was placed into a carryout box. The box went into a bag. Elliot thanked the cashier, paid for the slice of cake, and left. "Don't worry," Elliot assured the caller. "She won't be mad. She knows she's seeing the hotel. And she'll be thrilled to see you." He smiled again and said good-bye.

Filled with excitement, he walked over to the car. "So, Liv, ready to see the place I thought would be great for the wedding?" he asked.

Olivia smiled. "Of course," she responded. She could not wait. This was too exciting. She saw as Elliot drove through the city. They drove past St. Catherine's. Were they getting married in a church? She knew Elliot was Catholic, but she did not know if he wanted a church wedding. He had one with Kathy, but that did not end well. She did not know.

Wait a minute. Now they were passing a bunch of hotels. Fancy ones, too. They were slowing down, but not because of traffic. Her heart pounded with excitement. Elliot pulled into a parking space and walked over to let Olivia out. With his arm around her waist, he guided her towards The Mark.

Olivia's mouth dropped open again. "Elliot, how the hell were you able to get this place?" she asked.

"So you like it?" Elliot asked her.

"Like it!" Olivia gasped. "Elliot, I love it!" She grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug. She kissed his lips. "But how were you able to get it on such short notice?"

"By the luckiest break known to man kind," Elliot answered. "I was checking out the reception hall, and the lady asked which weekend I was looking at. I told her, and she said there had been a cancellation only two days ago." He smiled as he grasped her hand and rushed inside. "But there's something even better."

"You got that band we liked?" Olivia asked with excitement.

Elliot shook his head. "No," he noted. "But this is someone you'll want to see." He smiled and walked her down towards the reception hall.

Olivia beamed with happiness. How could she not? This place was gorgeous. It was everything she wanted for a wedding place. She could actually see herself getting married here. It made her more excited.

Elliot opened the door to the reception hall. "Isn't it gorgeous?" he asked her.

Olivia nodded. "Yes," she said. She hugged Elliot. "I am so glad you found this place. Thank you."

Elliot kissed her forehead. "Only the best for my Olivia," he stated. He wrapped his hand around her waist again. He glanced around the room and coughed slightly.

Olivia eyed him curiously, but she could not comment on his actions. She saw the person Elliot had been referring to this entire time. She could not believe it was true. "Alex?" she asked as she walked over towards the back of the room.

Alex smiled back as she started walking towards Olivia. "Hey," she responded. "It's so good to see you. Congratulations, by the way."

"Alex," Olivia said again. It was the only thing she could say. This was shocking. She wanted desperately to believe it, but she did not know if she could. "How is this true?"

Elliot smiled. "Meet the new Bureau Chief ADA," he stated. "But I believe you've already met her." He smiled at the two of them. "Take all the time you need. I'll give you some girl time."

((Sorry for the delay. I meant to publish it earlier in the week, but then I remembered that "Conviction" premeires this week. Seeing as SVU did not mention Alex's return, I had to.))