It was four weeks until their wedding. Elliot and Liv were planning on going out for a nice dinner with Noah, which she'd been looking forward to all week. She got called in on a new, complicated case at 1:00 and she knew she'd never be able to leave. She called Elliot quickly on the way to the scene. "We just got a case," she told Elliot. "I'll never be able to leave on time tonight. I'm so sorry, El."
"It's not your fault," he said gently.
"But I hate letting Noah down. It's so hard to cancel something with him," she said, her voice breaking a little.
"Don't worry," he said. "I've got an idea. Just focus on work."
When they finally got back to the station around 5:30, Fin turned to her. "You're taking a break for dinner," he told her firmly. "You need to rest your ankle. Nobody is allowed in your office for the next 30 minutes. No arguments," he said when she started to protest.
She opened the door to her office and blinked. Noah and Elliot were sitting there, smiling at her. On her desk was a carry-out dinner that she was almost positive was from the restaurant they'd been planning to go to, candles and a vase of flowers.
"Surprise," Noah said, beaming at her. She hugged him tightly. "Thank you, sweet boy. Thank you so much. I'm so sorry I couldn't go out with you like I was supposed to."
"You're busy protecting people, Mom," Noah exclaimed. "Besides, this was way more exciting than going to a restaurant."
"How did you know when to get here?" She asked curiously.
"We've been getting updates from Fin and Amanda for the last few hours," Elliot admitted.
For the next 30 minutes, she let go of the case and focused on Elliot, Noah and dinner. "We brought dessert too," Noah said, bringing it out.
"Thank you," she told them, hugging Noah again and kissing Elliot. "It's so special you brought dinner to me when I couldn't leave. I probably won't get home until you're asleep, Noah, but I'll come kiss you good-night when I come in."
"I know," he said.
After Elliot and Noah left, Liv motioned Amanda and Fin into her office. They were both smiling at her. "Thank you," Liv told them. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," Amanda said warmly.
When Liv got home, exhausted, Elliot was waiting for her. "You didn't have to wait up," she told him guiltily.
"I didn't want you to be alone when you got home," he said. He kissed her, she went and kissed Noah as she always did when she missed his bedtime, took the boot off her ankle and fell into bed.
"I love you," she told Elliot.
"Love you too, Liv. Can't wait to marry you in a month. Three weeks and six days, actually," he said yawning.
"It's nice not to come home to everyone asleep," she admitted.
"I know," he said, getting into bed with her. He smiled when he realized she was already asleep.
