Chapter 24

AN: So, my state, which up until now hasn't been hard hit, has just started a 7 day, FULL lockdown due to the Delta Varient. I will be working from home so I'm not sure if that will help me have more time to write. We'll see. Hope you enjoy this chapter.


28 May 2021

Twelve days have passed since Alex and Olivia told everyone important to them about their relationship and in that time, Alex has supported Andy as Carisi prosecuted his wife, and she also offered help to Carisi. In that time Eli has also spent multiple days at Vita Nova as all his siblings are sure that it is good for him.

The day of Fin's wedding to Phoebe has arrived, and after the last few days and the case she has been working Olivia is looking forward to celebrating. As Alex is her date and Barba doesn't know how to drive, Olivia is planning on picking them both up from Vita Nova.

While Alex is getting changed into her office, Barba is in the bathroom, while Liz and Antonio are sitting at their desks and the elevator opens and Dickie walks out.

"Are you disappearing? We're both meant to be handling the emergency line," Liz says to Antonio, sounding annoyed as she really doesn't want to handle everything on her own.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Antonio assures Liz. "Richard's going to keep us company," Antonio explains.

"You mean exchange lovey dovey looks with you while bickering with me," Liz corrects, teasing her brother and closest friend.

"Come on Elizabeth, bickering with me is the highlight of your life," Dickie says as he sits on Antonio's desk, neither he nor Richard raising to Liz's teasing as they are both used to it.

"It is enjoyable to watch," Antonio says, and as he does the three of them hear footsteps and the three young adults turn to see Barba, who is wearing a suit with a pink tie and suspenders, walking towards them.

"Nice Rafael," Liz says, sounding approving.

"Thank you, Liz," Rafael responds. "Remember if something comes up that you can't handle, call me, not Lex," Barba requests as he wants Olivia and Alex to be able to enjoy Fin's wedding together.

"Will do," Liz assures Barba, as both Antonio and Richard nod.

"I can't believe Fin is getting married," Dickie says.

"He deserves it," Antonio says as the door to Alex's office opens and Alex, who's hair is slightly curled, walks out wearing a long sleeve, dark purple, dress that has red flowers. "Wow Mami, you look very nice," Antonio says.

"Thanks Tonio," Alex says to her son.

"You went with the purple, good choice," Liz says, as she and Alex were talking over about what dress Alex was going to wear.

"It seemed like the best choice," Alex says and as she does the elevator opens and Olivia, who is also wearing a long sleeve dress with flowers on it, but her dress is dark blue, with a red belt, and the flowers are multicolor, walks out.

"Wow Liv, you look really nice," Dickie complements the person who has been family to him as long as he can remember.

"Thank you, Richard," Olivia responds.

"You're really going to play third wheel?" Dickie asks Barba, who he gets along really well with, asks, clearly teasing him.

"He has no choice, he can't drive," Olivia teases.

"It's the city! A lot of people can't drive!" Barba says in his defence, knowing that Olivia has given him a hard time about this more than once.

"People don't drive, it doesn't mean they can't," Alex tells him, and Barba rolls his eyes as they have had this discussion many times.

"Why haven't you ever learnt?" Liz asks curious, being generally curious.

"Never saw the need," Barba explains, with a shrug.

"But…" Antonio starts to say.

"Trust me, there's no point, I've tried to get Rafi to learn to drive many times," Alex explains.

"We should go, it's a long drive," Barba says, wanting to get the subject off the fact that he can't drive.

"How do you know?" Olivia teases.

"If anything comes up, I have my cell, just call," Alex says, looking between Liz, Antonio, and Dickie, not realizing that Barba is shaking his head as if to say don't do that, but Olivia realizes and it amuses her.

"Let's go," Olivia says, and she, Alex, and Barba head out of Vita Nova.


A little while after they left Vita Nova Alex, Olivia, and Barba are arriving at the location where Fin's wedding is going to take place.

"Wow, this looks really nice," Alex says, as she looks around.

"it really is," Olivia confirms and Barba nods. As they see Kat, her date, and Carisi the trio walk over to them. As they walk closer it is more than clear that Carisi, who will be officiating the wedding, is extremely nervous.

"Rollins not here yet?" Barba asks curious.

"Running late, but should be here soon," Carisi explains, and Barba nods in understanding.

For a little while everyone waits, and eventually everyone takes their seats, Olivia, Alex, Barba, Kat, and her date sitting together while Carisi gets ready to officiate. As they wait Rollins arrives and sits next to Barba.

"I really thought I was late," Rollins admits as she looks around.

"Nope, they're not even here yet," Olivia explains.

"That can't be good," Rollins comments.

"That's what I've been saying," Alex reveals, as she has been saying that for the last few minutes.

"Here they come," Barba says, spotting Fin and Phoebe, who walk up to where Carisi is, standing in front of everyone.

"First off, Phoebe and I wanna thank everyone for coming out, but I'm just going to cut to the chase. We're not getting married today," Fin says, causing confused chatter to break out.

"What?" Alex asks, and Olivia just shrugs, having no idea what is going on.

"No, but don't worry we're not breaking up," Fin assures everyone, causing them to be even more confused.

"No, we just realized, you know, we have a good thing going so… why let the government spoil it," Phoebe explains.

"Exactly, so consider this our not getting married ceremony, but we still wanna have a great evening with our friends and our family, and why we let a free bar go to waste?" Fin asks.

"So, drink up, eat up. L'chaim," Fin says, to everyone's shock, and everyone proceeds to enjoy themselves.


A little while after Fin and Phoebe's announcement Alex and Olivia are standing with the unmarried couple, Ken, Alejandro, and Barba.

"Oh, I'm so sorry we didn't tell anyone in advance. It was late-breaking news," Fin explains.

"And you wanted to make a scene," Barba says amused.

"Jaden was the most upset," Ken reveals.

"Aw… because he wanted to be the ring barer," Olivia says.

"What matters is that you are both happy," Alex says as she looks between Fin and Phoebe.

"We're okay. We're really okay," Fin assures them, as he puts his arm around Phoebe.

"Good," Olivia says relieved, then she spots someone she has to talk to. "Sorry, I have to talk to the Chief, I'll be right back," Olivia assures Alex before kissing her cheek, and she walks away.

After a brief conversation with Garland Olivia grabs two glasses of wine and walks over to Alex, who is now standing outside near the water.

"Here you are," Olivia says, handing Alex the glass.

"Thanks," Alex responds, as she takes the glass. "Garland okay?" Alex asks concerned as she knows that Olivia has been concerned about the chief.

"I'm not sure," Olivia admits. "So, it took them twenty years, but Fin and Phoebe finally realized what they want,"

"Yeah," Alex confirms. "I'm happy for them," Alex admits.

"Me too," Olivia confirms, and as she does Alex spots someone, who could very much ruin the lovely evening that Alex and Olivia are having.

"Liv," Alex says, gesturing to where Elliot is walking towards them, and Olivia auditable sighs.

Knowing that this could be a complicated conversation, and involve a lot of anger, Olivia gently squeezes Alex's hand as Elliot gets closer. Honestly, Olivia isn't sure how Elliot is going to react when he realizes that she and Alex are together, something that she has no intention of hiding.

"Hey, did I miss it?" Elliot asks curious, as he is feeling very confused.

"No, they decided not to go ahead with it," Alex explains.

"Alex," Elliot says, sounding surprised. "I didn't know you were back in New York," Elliot admits, as he looked for Alex at the DA office when he first got back, but he didn't see any sign of her.

"I never left after I got back from the Congo," Alex says, there being a very specific meaning to her words which both Elliot and Olivia pick up on.

"But you don't work at the DA's office anymore?" Elliot asks, trying to make sense of things.

"No, I don't," Alex says, and Olivia realizes something.

"Wait, Liz still hasn't told him?" Olivia asks surprised.

"Considering everything are you surprised?" Alex asks, and Olivia gestures as if to say, 'yeah I get that,'

"Liz? Are you talking about my daughter?" Elliot asks, feeling beyond confused, but before anyone can explain Alex's phone rings.

"Speak of the devil," Alex says, seeing what's on the caller ID. "Liz? What's going on?" Alex asks, and Alex pauses to listen to what Liz is saying. "It's okay, I'll be right there, you did the right thing," Alex says, before hanging up.

"I'm really sorry, but there's a walk-in client and Liz says they won't talk to anyone but me," Alex explains to Olivia, feeling bad about abandoning her.

"It's okay, I get it," Olivia assures Alex. "Be careful," Olivia says, and she leans forward and kisses Alex's cheek, not even caring that Elliot is watching.

"I will," Alex says, before walking away, knowing that she must talk to Barba before leaving.

"Why is my daughter calling Alex?" Elliot asks, as there are several things, he wants to talk to Olivia about but that is the one that he wants to understand first.

"Because they've been working together for three years," Olivia responds, knowing that she will be vague to give Liz the opportunity to explain herself, but give Elliot enough so that he stops questioning.

"Alex is Elizabeth's boss?" Elliot asks surprised as he knows Liz has been working with someone for the past three years and loves what she does.

"I think they would both describe their work as working together, as being partners, than working for or Boss," Olivia reveals, knowing that very well, giving Elliot a lot to think about.

"So, you and Alex are together?" Elliot asks, as that what it seems like, but he also knows that Alex and Olivia could just be acting the way they are because that is how they always are together.

"Yeah, we are, and we're happy," Olivia tells Elliot, preparing herself for how he is going to react.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, after everything…." Elliot starts to say.

"No, no can stop right there," Olivia says, anger in her voice. "You do not get to walk back into my life after ten years and make judgments about my life," Olivia explains, a level of anger to her voice as even with everything Elliot's done since he's been back Olivia is not going to let him criticize her relationship with Alex; not when Alex makes her so incredibly happy.

"isn't that exactly what you've been doing?" Elliot asks, not even comprehending that it is not the right place to get into this argument.

"Elliot the reason Fin and I came to talk to you is because your kids, all five of them, asked me to," Olivia reveals, deciding it's time that Elliot becomes aware of a few things. "I am trying so hard to get you to realize how far from okay you are not just because I care, but because I'm seeing the effect the way you're acting is having on your kids, who I've spent a lot of time with in the last year," Olivia explains, shocking Elliot. "Elliot, Eli begged me to convince his siblings to let him stay with you, and then I had to be the one to tell him when it became clear that it wasn't safe for him," Olivia reveals. "And honestly, I had no idea if you care, but Alex has been looking out for Liz and Richard, letting Eli spend time at her work, and has been a sounding board for Kathleen," Olivia reveals. "She's also been there for Liz, Richard and Kathleen for years," Olivia reveals.

"I had no idea," Elliot admits.

"I'm not surprised," Olivia says, and as she does, she notices Barba walking towards them, and she knows that this could either make things better or much worse as even though Alex or Barba haven't outright said it, she knows that Barba feels a lot of anger towards Elliot.

"So, before she hurried back to work Lex made me promise to treat you to a dance," Barba explains, purposely ignoring Elliot.

"Of course," Olivia says amused. "Rafa, this is Detective Elliot Stabler," Olivia introduces, though she is sure that Barba would have already realized that. "Elliot, this is Rafael Barba, he was my ADA for six years," Olivia introduces and both Elliot and Barba notice the use of 'my'. "He also happens to be Alex's oldest friend and now works with Alex and Liz," Olivia explains.

"Right," Elliot not sure what to think about anything Olivia just said, and he especially doesn't know what to think about Barba.

"I thought you were going to handle emergencies tonight," Olivia says to Barba, as that was her impression.

"I was meant to, but Liz said the person wouldn't talk to anyone but Lex, which usually means something complicated, and will take a while," Barba says, as he hates that he couldn't keep Alex from being called in. "I'll call back soon and if I can sub in for Lex I will," Barba explains as if he can make sure Olivia and Alex get to enjoy the wedding then he would like to.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Olivia responds.

"Of course," Barba says. "Ah, I see Carisi, it's been a while since I gave him a hard time, excuse me," Barba says, looking amused, causing Olivia to laugh.

"Have fun," Olivia responds, and Barba walks away.

"Things really are different," Elliot comments.

"You've been gone a while," Olivia says. "Life moved on, Elliot, and I know it did for you," Olivia says.

"Yeah, I had an incredible ten years with Kathy," Elliot admits, pain in his voice. "Liv, I would like us to be close again," Elliot reveals.

"I'd like that too, but Elliot, you need to make things right with your kids, and the only way you're going to do that is if you get help," Olivia tells Elliot.

"Captain!" Kat's voice calls.

"Excuse me," Olivia says, needing to go see what Kat needs, and she walks over to her.

As Elliot watches Olivia walk away, and sees the way Olivia interacts with her new squad, Elliot realizes, without a doubt, that Olivia truly moved on without him; he just hoped she is as happy as she seems to be.


A while after Olivia walked over to her squad, she and Barba are having that dance that Barba promised Alex he'd give.

"Are you okay?" Barba asks Olivia. "Seemed like I interrupted an intense conversation between you and Elliot," Barba admits as he cannot help but be extremely curious about what that conversation was about.

"You did, but I said what I needed to say," Olivia admits.

"Good," Barba responds, and as he does, he feels someone tap his shoulder, and so he turns and sees Alex.

"May I have this dance," Alex says to Olivia.

"Always," Olivia says, smiling.

"I was just keeping your spot warm for you," Barba says, moving out of the way so that Olivia and Alex can dance.

"Everything okay at Vita Nova?" Olivia asks curious.

"For now," Alex responds. "My client was exhausted, so she's somewhere safe and we're going to talk more tomorrow," Alex explains. "I'm sorry for leaving, Liv," Alex admits.

"It's okay, I know why you had to," Olivia says as they continue to dance. "But I am glad you're back," Olivia admits, as the two of them continue to dance together, having an enjoyable time together.


June 7th 2021

A week has passed since Fin's not wedding and in that time Alex and Olivia have celebrated Alex's birthday and Olivia has helped Elliot arrest the person who was ultimately responsible for Kathy's death. It's Lunchtime on a Monday and Olivia is in her office talking with Elliot about everything that has happened.

"So, it's over, how does it feel?" Olivia asks curious.

"Like it's not real," Elliot admits. "I think it's going to take me a while to accept," Elliot reveals.

"Probably," Olivia admits. "But you seem to be doing better," Olivia admits, as she has realized that.

"I'm getting help," Elliot admits. "And I'm talking with Ayanna," Elliot reveals.

"That's good, Elliot, that's really good," Olivia says. "Ayanna is a good person to talk to," Olivia admits.

"You know each other well?" Elliot asks, as it seems like it.

"More in passing," Olivia admits, and Elliot nods. "Elliot this is good, accepting help is the only way you're going to move forward," Olivia explains.

"I know," Elliot responds.

While Olivia and Elliot are in Olivia's office talking Liz is hurrying into the squad room as she sees Fin she hurries over to him.

"Fin! Fin!" Liz says, sounding panicked.

"Hey Liz, you here to see your old man?" Fin asks curious.

"Dad? No, I had no idea he was here," Liz admits. "I need to see Liv," Liz says, in a hurried tone of voice. "LIV!" Liz calls, as she doesn't have time for Fin's questions, and seconds later Elliot and Olivia hurry out of Olivia's office.

"Liz? What's wrong?" Olivia asks concerned as Fin, Kat, Rollins, and Carisi who was talking with Rollins, all stand up.

"Liv, I think somethings happened to Alex, and I think it's something bad," Liz says, sounding terrified, not even looking at her father but rather all her attention is on Olivia.