AN: Hey guys, the final chapter of Sin is finally here! Thank you for waiting 11 years for it lmao. Bonus points if you even remember what this story was all about.

A huge thank you to JessicaR_NY who so kindly sent me copious amounts of voice notes (at my request) on how I could possibly fix the mess I had created with this story as honestly I had no idea where I was even going with half of these plot points, but she managed to help me tie things up so beautifully. She is brilliant at connecting dots and making things make sense and I'm eternally grateful for her input in this chapter.

Also Happy Belated Birthday to my girl Aly, you have been a cheerleader for Sin for years, and although I missed the deadline for your b'day (Feb 23) I still wanted to honour your day of birth with this final chapter. This is for you Aly!

And finally, a big thank you to anyone else still reading this who has supported, followed and reviewed Sin throughout the years, in the words of Elliot Stabler, you mean the world to me.

I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

X

P.S. *Fluffy ending warning*


She wakes to a quiet blip on her phone, the white light of the screen illuminating brilliance across her four walls.

She rolls over sleepily, running a hand across her face as she slowly comes back to consciousness.

She can feel the warmth of his bare back against her, the comforting touch of his palm on her hip and she is immediately brought back to the present.

Elliot Stabler, was in her bed.

Naked.

Asleep.

She presses her eyes closed, still reeling at the reality of that when the phone vibrates once more.

She lifts her hand upward, clutching the phone and pulling it quietly from it's charger.

She glances at the screen, doing her best not to wake him as she opens the message from Fin.

Fin

Have you seen the news?

Grace Kendal has been found.

Her eyes widen at that and she stabs hastily at the news article he had linked below, her heart hammering in her chest.

Please be alive.

Please be alive.

Please be alive.

The phone starts to freeze as she continues to press at the link, her eyes flitting up to where the little icon is telling her that her wifi signal is weak.

She shifts slowly out of Elliot's hold, doing her best not to wake him as she sinks out of bed.

She dips down, grasping her panties from the floor before collecting an oversized t-shirt from the back of her door and she pads out of the bedroom.

She tugs on the items of clothing, tripping as she hastily makes her way towards the TV in her living room.

She drops down on her couch, switching on the news, her hand slightly shaking as she searches for the right channel.

BREAKING: SPECIAL AGENT GRACE KENDAL EXECUTED IN IRAN

She sees the words trail boldly across the bottom of the screen and watches images of a body bag getting loaded into an emergency vehicle.

"The body of FBI agent Grace Kendal, former partner of Lucas Silverman was recovered early this morning by authorities in Iran. Kendal had been involved in an undercover operation in an underground gentleman's club in upper Manhattan before she was trafficked by international intelligence with ties to terrorism and sex trafficking in Iran."

She blinks back at the screen, her heartbeat thrumming as she digests the information.

"Contents of interest were also recovered in relation to the circumstances surrounding Kendal's death calling for a deeper investigation by US authorities into the former investigation of Special Agent Dean Porter who was killed last month in a traffic fatality. As the details continue to emerge, we will bring you updates on this ongoing investigation."

She blinks back at the screen as a slew of advertisements start to flash up on the screen.

She hears movement from the doorway of her bedroom and she looks up to see his shadow.

"Hey," Elliot whispers groggily from the doorframe.

She moves forward, clicking the remote until it mutes the advertisements.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

She stares up at him, he's shirtless, boxer clad running a hand across the back of his neck, looking sleepy but concerned.

"Yeah.." she lies, feeling somewhat disorientated. "I just.."

He can tell something is off so he starts to step forward and she watches the flashing colours of the TV play out across his face.

"What happened?"

She motions towards the screen that was just advertisements now.

"Silverman's partner - the second U.C. from Sin was found executed in Iran."

She lays it out so methodically, she still can't believe it's a reality.

He scrubs a hand across the back of his neck.

"Jesus Liv," he whispers. "I'm sorry."

She watches a bout of concern flit across his face, but knows he couldn't possibly understand the gravity of the situation.

She hadn't even told him the half of it yet.

She drops the remote onto the coffee table with a clank before she lets out a heavy breath.

"I was just really hoping.." her words trail off as she tries to articulate the defeat she was suddenly feeling. "I guess I thought that the one salvation in all of this, would be if they had brought her home."

She had even gone as far to imagine initiating contact with Grace upon her return so she could explain how utterly broken Silverman had been over her absence.

"I didn't realise how much false hope I was holding onto.." she whispers mostly to herself.

She is still staring off into the distance when he takes the steps to settle in beside her, the cushions bowing beneath his weight as he draws an arm behind the couch, creating space for her to move in closer if she chooses to take it.

She obliges, sliding inward into the intimate cocoon he's formed until she is flattening her cheek against his chest. She lets her eyes slip closed, sinking into his warm embrace, taking a few even breaths before he starts to weave his fingers through her tresses.

"It could have been me," she voices the obvious against his skin, still reeling that it wasn't. That she is actually here, intact - with him, and he's touching her so.. so gently.

She feels his arm curl around her shoulder, scooping her in closer as if that reality was breaking for him too.

"Some nights I think maybe it should have been," she says ghostlike.

He breathes out, his lips skimming her crown.

"Please don't say that."

She waits a few beats until she moves up to face him, their eyes meeting in the darkness.

"Silverman had wished it was me.." she whispers, pausing slightly at the reality of that. "He looked at me with such disappointment, like he was angry that my life had been spared over hers, but who could blame him," she shakes her head sadly. "He was in love with his partner."

A few unwavering beats pass between them as he stares down at her.

"So am I," he whispers.

She blinks back at him, he had said versions of those words to her last night but she was not expecting them to be laid out quite like that. He draws a hand forward, slowly smoothing his fingers across the softness of her cheek.

"Surely that part's not breaking news," he whispers quietly into the silence.

Not breaking news.

But surreal news.

Words she never thought she would hear from him in her lifetime.

Her mouth parts, the makings of a response coming to form when he cuts her off.

"Liv," he whispers, as he slowly starts to twirl stray strands of hair between his fingers, the lights from the TV still illuminating the dark room. "You've gotta stop feeling guilty for existing."

She tilts her head at that, the unexpected phrasing of his words surprising her.

"I don't.." she almost stammers in defense.

"Yeah you do," he says calmly, brushing the stray strands behind her ear. "And I don't know why you seem so hell bent on playing the sacrificial lamb all the time but you've been doing it since the day I met you."

She shifts in his hold, rearing back a little, her mind suddenly flitting back to a childhood memory, recalling the piercing way her mother had glared at her, two bottles deep, as Olivia's face continued to remind her of her greatest trauma.

'All I see is him.'

She lets out a heavy breath.

Maybe Elliot was right.

Maybe a small part of her had always felt guilty for existing.

"You deserve to be here just as much as anyone else does," he whispers, drawing her forward, his thumb softly stroking the back of her hand. "And I'm not sure you're quite comprehending just how broken I'd be if you weren't."

She lets out a small breath, swallowing against his words - the sentiment, letting her thumb swipe over the top of his before she continues.

"You know, Silverman was the one who convinced me to talk to you," she whispers softly. "He told me to tell you how I feel.. I think in the absence of his partner he was trying to seek some sort of closure in this tragedy, living vicariously through me on some level I guess."

His eyes trail across her features and he smiles back at her sadly.

"Wish I could thank him.."

Her eyes move between his for a few drawn out moments before she settles her head back against his clavicle.

"Huang and Fin also had similar suggestions for me.."

She feels him smile at that.

"Well I'm glad you finally did," he whispered.

She sinks further into his hold, still in awe that they are here, that he is in her home, undressed and slunk into her couch after an evening of dancing, celebration and love making.

She feels his lips ghost across the top of her head and she lets out a tired breath.

"Just tell me what you need Liv," he whispers. "That's all you ever have to do."

But she is already sinking against him, sleepy-eyed and suddenly sated.

"This," she whispers quietly. "Just this."


ONE MONTH LATER


She had just left the precinct when she got Elliot's text.

Elliot Stabler

Carmel's Diner

..

Wear something nice.

She smirked at the message.

He knew full well she was coming straight from work and would have no time to change. Her day old burgundy sweater, jeans and grey hoodie would have to do.

She pushed open the glass door and weaved through the foot traffic of the diner, her mind swarming in confusion as to why he would choose this place, of all places, when there were several diners much closer to work or home.

She finds him in a booth, looking up at her with a boyish grin when she takes a seat.

She waits a few beats, observing the patrons milling past before she leans forward.

"What gives with this place El?"

He is smiling at her but he is giving nothing away in response.

It was still early days between them - just a handful of weeks into their relationship, it was too premature for an anniversary and neither of their birthdays were close.

He moves his hand into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled bit of yellow paper and slides it slowly towards her.

She lifts up the tattered post-it note and reads out the wording.

Mather's confessed.

You're buying.

- Liv.

"Today's the day Liv," he motions towards the paper that was previously housed in his bedside novel.

She slowly shakes her head, feigning elation.

"Wow."

She sinks back against the pleather booth back, smiling like she hadn't smiled in years.

"I know you've waited many a year for this." He raises the glass of water to his lips, trying not to let his amusement show as he takes a sip.

"I don't even know what to say." She slowly slides the paper back to him. "This is too much."

"No no no." He slides it right back. "You've earned this."

She lifts up the tacky plastic menu, gesturing towards it. "I mean where does one even start with this? I feel very unprepared."

He smiles at that.

"Right? I mean you can order breakfast, lunch or dinner - and eat all three of them at 2am if you like."

She lets out a small laugh. "Just like every other diner in the city."

The waitress chooses that moment to approach their table and they both look up.

She listens to him rattle off a full breakfast at 6pm, just because he can, and she follows suit with an omelet, toast, a side of bacon and a coffee.

She is starving from the day's events, having skipped lunch after being roped into tiresome interviews all day.

Funnily enough, a diner in the middle of nowhere was perfect.

"So you wanna walk me through it?" he asks slowly, as if reading her mind.

Her mouth parts to respond to that before she closes it, waiting until the waitress was out of ear shot.

"Not tonight," she tells him in a whisper.

She really doesn't want to go there.

She'd just been through weeks of federal inquiries that had finally come to a head this afternoon.

"I just gotta know one thing Liv," he begins. "Was Porter dirty?"

She shifts in her seat, the tone between them suddenly morphing, the air stilling as she's brought back to the present. Her eyes purposefully shift to the patrons milling around them. "Not here El."

"He had ties to the Middle East didn't he.."

He was like a dog with a bone.

She leans forward.

"I can't talk about it."

Can't.. or won't.

After contents of interest came to light after Grace's death Olivia was now considered key witness material in relation to Porter, Kendal and Silverman and she was under strict instructions to discuss it with no one.

Until now.

She waits a few beats, watching a flicker of acknowledgement pass through his features and she can tell he has made up his mind regardless.

"Never did like that prick."

"Yeah I got that," she sighs, sinking back against the booth. "We all got that."

Need a ride home?

No I'm good.

She feels frustrated now - defensive, annoyed that she was so blinded by Porter when Elliot had instincts of his deception years prior.

Our feelings don't matter.

"Was he the one that tipped off your wagon?" He keeps his voice low. "Do I at least have that to thank him for?"

Her eyes move slowly back to his and he is giving her a helpless look as if he had waited weeks to hear the finer details of this and he wasn't willing to wait a second longer.

She nods her head in response, a strange sense of confusion and relief passing through her at that realisation.

"Yeah ..it was him," she confirms, absently fingering the chipped laminate of the tabletop. "But ironically he didn't even know it was mehe was saving, and maybe had he known he wouldn't have.."

She watches his eyebrows lift at that.

"He had tunnel vision. Grace knew too much, he needed her out of the picture, so he only saved one wagon.. the one she wasn't in."

Elliot blows out the breath he was holding. "Jesus."

Her eyes lift up to make sure the patrons where all occupying themselves before she continues.

"And in her personal effects," her voice lowers further. "The fail safe - it was a safety deposit box key linked to the city with a full jacket on Porter." She leans forward. "And Elliot, what they found, I can understand why he wanted her out of the country - he was heavily entrenched in the operation in Iran, either willingly or under duress I still don't know."

Elliot shakes his head.

"So Grace had info that Porter was in deep, but what about Silverman. Did he know too?"

"From what I can gather from the feds, I don't think so," she whispers. "But if he did, maybe Porter used his history with Silverman to convince them both to keep a lid on it. Then maybe over time he didn't trust Grace wouldn't flip on him so he took care of it," she mutters.

"And Porter was hell bent on getting you out of D.C. why? He didn't want to run the risk of you digging deeper?"

"Exactly," she whispers. "He must have thought I was a threat, worried the feds would rope me in for questioning."

"So why lead you straight to Silverman in the first place?" Elliot presses.

"I think maybe he was banking on me pushing Silverman over the edge while he was fragile. Maybe seeing the woman that survived turn up at his local watering hole just to grill him would have been the final straw. And with Silverman dead, I'd be the last remaining tie to the truth for Porter." She sighs. "Either that or he was using me to gauge how much Silverman knew.. trying to ascertain if Grace had kept her silence."

"And leaving you to rot in interrogation for days?" Elliot blows out a heavy breath. "What was that about?"

She lets out a humourless laugh. "Yeah that was so he could swoop in to play unassuming hero when I was released, pretend he didn't know Jack. Honestly Elliot, every move that man made was calculated, and all of it was to save his own ass."

"If he wasn't dead already, I'd kill the prick." Elliot mutters under his breath.

She rubs her palms over her face in frustration, tired of thinking about this - of speaking about it. A few beats pass before she flattens her palms on the counter with a light thud.

"Okay now can we please change the subject, starting with you telling me why the hell I just trekked 40 blocks for diner food?"

He smiles at that.

"Because you're hungry."

"El."

"Liv," he whispers back, a few moments passing before he continues. "You really don't remember this place?"

She looks around before her eyes return to his.

"No," she raises her eyebrows, confusion brimming. "Should I?"

"We've been here before," he motions towards the sign out front.

She looks confused.

"When?" she whispers.

"First place we ever shared a meal."

Her lips part at that. "No it's not."

"Yeah it is," he taps the table between them. "Our first case, we sat right here and we had about ten minutes before we had to be at the courthouse downtown, and let me tell you I've never seen a person eat so fast."

She lets out a breath of disbelief. "You're making this up."

"No I'm not," he assures her. "It was the Sampson case - rape two, but it ended with an acquittal. Remember you were so pissed?"

She tilts her head to the side.

"How on earth are you even remembering these details?"

He shrugs. "I don't know, it stuck in my mind I guess - I remember thinking I was in for a ride with this new partner of mine."

Her eyes flicker at that, a small smile starting to form.

"You really are full of surprises Elliot," she whispers. "So is this your attempt at romance?" She smiles. "Making me hike several blocks for average breakfast food?"

He raises his eyebrows, feigning offence. "Attempt?"

She is smiling back at him, still trying to process the thoughtful gesture when their waitress returns with their meals, placing their plates down in front of them with a clank.

He motions towards the steaming food.

"Eat up Liv."

She takes in the tragic assortment of greasy breakfast foods all tossed together clumsily, looking like they'd seen better days.

"Did you have to call ahead to book this table Elliot?" she raises her eyebrows. "I can't imagine that was easy."

"I got here early," he motions with his chin towards another couple sitting near the window. "Had to pay those two to swap tables with me. Now eat up before it gets cold."

She stares back at his beaming, pride filled face.

"Hell - maybe after this I'll even take you out for ice cream if you're lucky."

"I'm blown away Elliot Stabler," she whispers with a bemused smile, taking a sip of her lukewarm coffee and nudging his foot beneath the table.

"You shouldn't have."

End.