Author's Note: I am SO sorry for the delay. I had the flu last week, so therefore there were a million things to make up this week, plus all the usual end of the quarter chaos. But we have a three-day weekend, so I'll try to have the next chapter up very quickly. You guys have been wonderful. And on a story-related note, the writers of Conviction have yet to explain how Alex got out of WPP. Since I don't want to be screwed in the future, I'm keeping that part vague. If anyone is curious, I do have another story dedicated to her return. But enough of my ramblings, let's mess with Olivia's life.

Spoilers: Conviction premiere (to the basic extent that Alex is back and she's the Bureau Chief).

Chapter Eighteen

Elliot left the hotel almost right after reuniting Alex and Olivia. He claimed he had some things to straighten out with the hotel manager then he was meeting Munch in Queens to interrogate a witness. Olivia was not sure of how reliable his story actually was, but she did not question him. Alex was there, and that was much more intriguing. "How?" she asked again as she and Alex moved over and sat down at one of the tables at the side of the room.

"Long story," Alex admitted with a sigh. "And I can't really talk about it completely. Basically, the Feds located and extradited Valez. However, there were more pressing charges against him than my attempted murder. I'll get a court date eventually. The important thing is that he's in isolated federal custody," she explained. The smile returned to her face. "And Branch offered me Liz Donnelly's former position as Bureau Chief, so I'm not going anywhere."

Olivia returned Alex's smile. She shared the joy that the younger woman had. "Well, it's certainly good to see you," she stated truthfully. "I know you got off easy, but two years is too long. I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Alex responded. Her eyes darted towards Olivia's stomach, to the engagement ring on Olivia's finger, then back to her stomach. "Obviously I've missed more than you have. Congratulations, again, but I can't exactly say I'm surprised."

Olivia eyed Alex curiously. "You can't?" she asked.

Alex shook her head. "Liv, when I first started working for SVU, I knew that Elliot was married. I didn't know his wife's name, so I kind of assumed it was you. You guys have always been great together."

Olivia nodded slowly as her mouth moved into an 'O' formation. "Elliot didn't tell you the entire story behind this, did he?" she immediately questioned. She should not have assumed that he did. It was not exactly something to tell after seeing someone for the first time nearly a year.

Again, Alex shook her head. She was missing something. That was evident to her. There was information that she did not know. Judging by how Olivia asked the question, Alex inferred that the circumstances leading to the pregnancy were not ideal. She did not know if Olivia and Elliot just felt they were not ready for a child, if they felt their work at the SVU would suffer, or if it was something worse. She hoped it was one of the first two, but she believe d the last reason was the most likely. However, if Olivia did not want to talk about it, she would respect that.

"Of course," Olivia noted. She exhaled deeply and looked around the hall again. It was like her perfect ideal fantasy wedding reception hall. She loved it. She loved Elliot for finding it. Everything was perfect. In the course of the past couple of weeks, she had not even thought of the event that started everything. She knew she loved Elliot for more reasons than just supporting her in all of this. However, it might have taken them longer to admit it if she was not pregnant. And she would not be pregnant if she was not raped. It was far from an ideal way to get engaged to someone. While she had come to terms with what happened, she did not like talking about it in public, especially not in the place she hoped to get married. "I'll tell you," she started.

"No, Liv, it's ok," Alex interrupted. She already felt bad for bringing the issue up. She could have just said "Congratulations" and left it at that. "If you're not comfortable about this, I don't need to know. I'll still love the little kid, won't I?"

Olivia chuckled. "I would expect nothing less from you," she commented. "And I will tell you, but not here. This place is too…innocent for me to tell you here." She pushed herself up from the table and finally stood up. She reached for her coat and placed it over her shoulders. She looked around the hall once again. In a little over a month, she would be getting married in it. "I really am lucky," she whispered. She turned to Alex. "But I'm also hungry. You wanna get a hot dog or something?"

Alex shrugged, and the two of them left the hotel.

Elliot glanced at the piece of paper in front of him and up at the house in front of which he was parked. The addresses were the same. He was at the right place.

Since he and Kathy officially divorced, he has only seen her once or twice. The only words they exchanged were about the kids. They're still doing fine. Elliot was not here to see them though. Not this time. He exhaled deeply and exited the car. He walked up the driveway. It took him a few breaths before he could gather up the courage to ring the doorbell.

"Mom, Kenny's here early!" he heard a screech from the other side of the door. Dickie. Elliot chuckled slightly as he had the perfect image of his son lying slouched across the couch calling for Kathy. He listened more closely, and he heard Kathy exclaiming a few curse words. She was saying how she was not ready. Elliot then felt bad.

It was not unreasonable for Kathy to be dating again. After all, he was engaged. Elliot knew he should have called first. He saw the door start to open. "Kathy, if now's a bad time, I can come back later," he said before she could open the door all the way.

Kathy gasped at Elliot. She was dressed in a stylish little black dress. Her hair was half curled. She was definitely going on a date, and she was definitely not ready for it yet. "Elliot, what are you doing here?" she asked him as she adjusted her pearl necklace around her neck.

"I'm sorry. I should have called first. How much time do you have?" Elliot asked as he gestured at her outfit. He knew what that outfit meant. It was one of Kathy's two favorite dresses. This Kenny guy must be very special.

Kathy shrugged as she opened the door all the way. "Over an hour," she admitted as she let him in. "You probably think this is pathetic."

Elliot shook his head. "Not at all," he told her honestly as he closed the door. He looked past Kathy at the couch. As predicted, Dickie was lying across it with his feet on the coffee table. A blanket was draped over his body. Elliot knew that the reason for his being home was that he was sick. "Hey," Elliot said.

"Hey," Dickie responded. He stared at Elliot for a couple more seconds before reverting his attention to the television.

"Elliot, what are you doing here?" Kathy asked again. She walked into the kitchen towards the fridge as if she was going to offer Elliot a drink.

Elliot declined before answering her question. "I just have some news," he said. "And I wanted to be the one to tell you before you heard it from someone else. I don't know who that someone else would be, but I didn't want to take the risk."

"Ok," Kathy said slowly as she got herself a glass of water. She had the vague feeling she might need it. "Did you and Olivia get together?" she asked. Her tone was not hostile. During the separation and divorce, it would have been. But she had Kenny now, and she really liked him. Luckily for her, the kids liked him, too. She had a strong loving man who actually came home at normal hours. She was ready to accept that Elliot was dating again. She always knew he loved Olivia.

Elliot nodded. "Well, yes, but that's not really why I came. There's more to it than that." He was hesitant to elaborate. Kathy had the right to know. He certainly would hope that she would tell him if she was getting remarried and having a child with this Kenny. But he did not know. It might be too much to handle at a time.

Kathy nodded slowly. "You can tell me, Elliot," she assured him. "I'm in a good place in my life. I guess you've figured out that I'm seeing someone. And it's working well between us. I like him, the kids like him."

"Well, that's good," Elliot admitted. It certainly made him feel better telling her this now that he knew she was also with someone. He exhaled as he tried to think of the best way to frame the information. "But Olivia and I aren't just seeing each other. See, back in August, Olivia was raped."

"Oh god," Kathy interrupted. "Did they catch the guy? Is she ok?"

Elliot nodded. "Guy's in Rikers, and she's accepted the situation. Of course, it was more than that. She's pregnant," he explained. "Six months now," he added.

"Oh god," Kathy said again. "Is she really ok?"

Elliot nodded. "That kind of brings me to the real reason I'm here," he admitted. "Olivia and I…" He stopped. He knew he had to tell her. There was no getting out of it now. "Olivia and I are getting married," he finally said. "I just didn't want you to hear it from anyone else."

Kathy was taken aback. She knew that Olivia and Elliot would get together. It was obvious. But getting married this soon. She was not jealous. No, she was more just shocked. "I, um, I appreciate that," she said. "And, um, congratulations."

"You're ok with this?" Elliot asked.

Kathy nodded. "I'm not going to be your best man or anything, but I'm fine," she told him. "I knew it would happen eventually, and like I said, I'm in a good place." She exhaled as the two of them stood up. She looked at Elliot. "Take care of her, Elliot," she said.

"And you keep doing the fabulous job you're doing with the kids," Elliot said as he headed towards the door. "Feel better," he called to Dickie. Dickie gave a wave before Elliot opened the door. "Take care of yourself, Kathy," he said.

Kathy nodded. "You, too."

"So have you thought about any baby names?" Alex asked as she and Olivia sat down in a café. They had a couple of donuts to split between the two of them as well as some hot chocolate. "Or do you even know the gender?"

Olivia shook her head. "In my line of work, there are too many unpleasant surprises. It's nice to have a good one," she said. "And earlier Elliot and I were thinking of names for both genders, but now our attention is more on planning the wedding." She grabbed a chocolate donut and split it in half. As she handed one half to Alex, she decided the best way to speak her request in. "Speaking of which, now that you are back, will you be a bridesmaid? The dresses aren't that uncommon, so I know we can get you one." Before Alex had a chance to respond, Olivia kept trying to sell her on the idea. "And don't worry, they're not really ugly either. They're simple but elegant blue dresses."

Alex smiled. "Of course, Liv," she said. "I'd love to." She started eating the donut. "And if you want to talk about names, I think Stephanie is a fine name for a girl," she added after swallowing.

Olivia chuckled. "I'll take it into consideration, but wedding first."

"You excited about it?" Alex asked before she took a sip of her hot chocolate.

Olivia nodded. "It's stressful right now, but I couldn't be happier. This child is going to have a loving family at home and a loving extended family," she said. As she said the last part, she looked at Alex. "I couldn't ask for more."