A/N: Finally! The chapter we've all been waiting for—even me! I can never say thank you enough to everyone who has kept this story going. It is really you all, and not me, that make this story what it is. Thank you for all you do! I am considering ending this after the proposal and after I wrap up some of these story lines and starting a new story—perhaps a part 2? What are your thoughts? I feel like I will have 10-15+ chapters to add to this story afterwards if not, and I just don't want this to be a 100+ chapter story. But, if it seems like it flows well I will keep going. I need some feedback there. Oh well, I've rambled enough. Enjoy!

Chapter 81

Approval

"Olivia!" The detective laughed as she walked into the restaurant and immediately recognized Roger. He waved at her, beckoning her over to his table. Olivia noticed his attire as she made her way towards him: he wore his Red Sox jersey and hat, complete with a pair of dark jeans. She smiled at him as she approached the table, signaling toward his shirt.

"Really? With the jersey?" Roger pulled her into a hug, laughing as he did so.

"Of course! Once the Sox win tonight, I want everyone to know I knew it was going to happen!" They broke apart and Olivia took her seat across the table from him.

"Well, I don't think that's going to happen, but it's good to see you either way." They laughed as the waiter approached the table and Roger ordered an appetizer and a beer. Olivia looked over the menu and ordered a beer as well, passing on food for right now. She knew that she was too nervous to eat, and she would have preferred to not drink anything either. This was real—the speech that she had practiced over and over in her head for the past few days was about to happen. Before she could think any more about it, her phone rang.

It was Elliot, and that made Olivia extremely nervous: he knew that she was out with Roger, and he wouldn't call her unless it was something important. Olivia looked towards Roger. "I'm so sorry, this is my partner." She displayed her phone in her hand. "Just want to make sure nothing is—."

"Take it." There was a smile on his face as he waved her off. Olivia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and walked a few feet away.

"Benson."

"Olivia, listen. I know you're probably going to be mad at me for calling you and telling you this, but I know what I'm doing here."

"Elliot, what's going on?"

"Nothing. Don't worry. I just want to tell you good luck."

Olivia paused. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah!" She could hear the chuckle in his voice. "I know what I'm talking about, man!"

"Ok. Well…what?!" Olivia laughed the nerves off and Elliot began.

"Listen, don't be nervous. I know that's dumb to say, but I can tell you're nervous. Take a breath." He paused, and as silly as Olivia felt, she knew Elliot had her best interest in mind. She took a slow breath and let it out as she listened to her partner continue. "The only thing that matters to this guy is that you love his daughter, and you're going to do all you can to make her happy and treat her right. That's it. He doesn't care about how much money you make, or if you're a Yankees fan…well, maybe he does tonight." They both laughed for a second before Elliot continued. "But seriously Liv, you've got this. You're ready."

Olivia couldn't think of anything else to say. "You know, I didn't know that I needed this phone call."

"I gotchu'." Olivia smiled as she heard this.

"Thanks El. I love you."

"Love you too, Liv. Good luck!" She hung up and put her phone in her pocket, took a breath, and walked back to the table.

"I'm sorry about that." She was settling into her chair as Roger responded.

"Oh, it's no problem. Duty calls!" He raised his beer and took a drink. Olivia nodded and took a drink of her own beer. Olivia was comforted knowing that she didn't have to fill the silence with Roger—they both turned their attention to the TV over the bar showing both Yankees and Red Sox highlights from the past season.

"So, Olivia, I know you didn't just call me and invite me to this game for no reason. I'm sure I'm not the first person you thought of to call when you realized you had these tickets…I'm sure there was a Yankess fan you could have invited, at least." Olivia smiled and started to formulate an answer when the waiter came by and delivered the food. When he left, Roger continued, "Now, don't get me wrong, I'm more than excited to go to this game with you…even if you are a Yankees fan."

Olivia knew this was her moment. "Well, Mr. Cabot, sir—"

"Olivia, if you don't quit calling me 'Mr. Cabot'…"

She got the point. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry, Roger." He nodded. "Well, I'll be perfectly honest with you. I had a few reasons I wanted to bring you to this game with me." He sat back and took his hat off, preparing himself for what he thought was coming.

"The first reason is because I just wanted to say thank you for welcoming me with open arms last weekend. I think that everyone's biggest fear when they meet their girlfriend's family is that they won't get along or it will be awkward or weird or whatever and I felt nothing but love and sincerity, and I want to thank you for that." Roger smiled as Olivia explained. He definitely wasn't expecting that, but he responded nonetheless.

"Well, Olivia, it's no problem. We were all very happy to finally get to spend some time with you. After everything Alexandra has told me about you, I for one, was eager to meet you. And, I owe you my gratitude for how happy you've made Alex, that's for sure." He sipped his beer and it was evident that he was ready for Olivia to continue.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." She paused and took a breath, knowing she had another point to make before the big one. "My second reason for wanting to meet up with you is because I wanted to talk to you about Alex's birthday. As you know, it's Saturday, and I was thinking that maybe you and I could get the family together and do dinner or something."

Roger nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Have anywhere in mind?"

"Actually, yeah. I don't know if Alex has told you or not, but I own a restaurant in the Central Park West area, and we could close it down early and have a party. I could invite some people from the precinct and a few of her friends if you could gather up the family."

"I didn't know that. I keep learning more and more about you. That sounds good—I'll send out a text now." Olivia watched as he took his phone out of his jeans and sent out a text including Olivia, Bill, Charlotte, Linda, and Russell. She checked her phone in time to see the message come through.

We're having a surprise dinner for Alexandra's birthday on Saturday night. Everyone in?

"There we go. Now we can all figure it out together." He locked his phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Sounds great." Olivia could feel her nerves rattling through her body, shaking her to the core. She fiddled with her beer bottle before she lifted it to her lips and drained the rest of her beverage. The detective looked over the empty bottle to Roger and noticed he was looking back right at her.

"So, I um…" Olivia's voice was weak, and she cleared her throat to try to steady herself. "I guess I would be lying if I said that was all I wanted to talk with you about tonight." Roger nodded, returning a knowing smile to Olivia.

The detective looked across the table at Roger, at those same cerulean blue eyes she knew so well. She wringed her hands together under the table and took a deep breath. "You know, I had this big speech prepared…I have probably repeated it to myself thirty or forty times in the past two days, but what I just realized is that it always starts and ends in the same two places." Roger nodded as he listened closely to what Olivia was saying.

"I've felt like I've been on this road for a while—I was always working, whether it was at the precinct or taking care of things at the restaurant. And then, when I got shot, you know I started to reevaluate what's important in my life." She took a breath. "This speech I had prepared always started with this: I love your daughter. I love her with everything I have, and everything that I am." Roger smiled. "And, it always ended in the same place: I want to marry Alex, Roger. And I realized that everything in the middle didn't really matter."

Suddenly, Olivia felt a rush of emotion and had an army of words at her command. "I knew from the moment I saw her back around the precinct that I would never find someone who understood me like she did. And, after I got shot, everything changed for me—all of my priorities were different. I started to think about the future, and no matter what else happens, I know that Alex is in that future. Hell, she's my whole future." Olivia paused and took a breath.

"I know that things aren't promised, and I know I'm not young anymore. I know that I have a risky job, and I understand the sacrifices that Alex has made by being with me." Olivia glanced toward Roger and saw a look of understanding on his face. She knew she couldn't quit talking now, so she continued. "I have never met anyone like Alex, and I think we understand each other intimately. Over the past few months, we've been through a lot together, and I think that if we were to spend our lives together that we would be able to handle any challenges that came our way. I will never stop trying to make Alex happy, and I'll always protect her heart the best way I can…I guess the bottom line is this," Olivia looked at Roger and took a breath, "I want to make Alex my wife, Roger." She wasn't expecting it, but tears filled her eyes as she smiled, thinking about Alex as her wife. "And," she sniffled and cleared her throat, pulling a tear from the corner of her eye, "I'd love to have your approval for me to propose to Alex."

Roger sat back in his chair and Olivia watched as a smile beamed across his face. He stood up and made his way around the table, wrapping Olivia in a tight hug. The detective felt her cheeks ache as she couldn't contain the smile that spread over her face. Roger pulled away and watched as a tear fell from Olivia's eye, down her cheek, and over the huge smile that adorned her face. He watched her for a moment before he turned around and took his seat back at the table.

"Olivia, I'm so happy that you wanted to talk to me about this today. First, I have to say thank you for the respect you've shown me—you said it earlier: you and Alex aren't 'young' anymore, you know? You could really do whatever you wanted and just call me and tell me what the plan is. And no one, including me, would have a problem with that. So, I appreciate that you took an extra step and came to me to talk about this." Olivia nodded, trying to regulate the thumping of her heart in her throat. It was almost as if her heart hadn't beat the entire time she was talking, and it had to play catch up now.

"I wanted to say a few things." Roger took a quick sip of his beer, emptying the bottle and setting it down on the table. "I shared a few things with you last weekend, not the least of which, was how thankful I am that you have made the impression you have on Alex. Every day when I pick up the phone, I couldn't be happier to hear the joy in Alex's voice, and I know that's because of you. So, I thank you for that." The waiter came by and dropped off the check, and Olivia grabbed it quickly, much to Roger's chagrin. She pulled out a few bills and stuck them on the tray before she refocused her attention back on Roger.

"I know how much you love Alex, Olivia. But, it's not because you just told me. I learned everything I needed to know about how you feel during the wedding reception. The way you supported Alex, how she looked at you…these are things that you can just tell." Olivia waited with bated breath—everything sounded good so far, but she just wanted to make sure she definitely had the 'go-ahead.'

"I appreciate all the thought you've put into this. And, I would consider myself," he nodded toward Olivia's shirt, "as your guy Lou Gehrig said, 'the luckiest man on the face of the earth' if I could call you family." They smiled at each other. "Nothing would make me happier than you proposing to Alex…because I know it would be the highlight of her life."

Olivia felt her heart explode with happiness. "I'm so happy to hear that. Thank you, Roger." She shook his hand as they both looked across the table at each other. Roger glanced at his watch as he stood up.

"Well, if there's nothing else we need to talk about…?" Olivia shook her head. "Let's get outta here." They walked out as Olivia looked at her phone. There, illuminated on the screen, was a text message from Alex. Olivia followed Roger out of the restaurant, keeping a safe distance behind him.

I miss you already. I wish you were here.

Attached to the message was a scantily clad picture of the blonde. She sat on the bed with her legs curled under her, her black lace thong and bra standing out in contrast to her ivory skin. Olivia looked up to make sure Roger wouldn't see anything before she replied.

Wow. Me too! But, you'd have to make it worth my while to leave these seats…

She knew exactly what she was starting. A few minutes later, Olivia and Roger were entering the stadium in the middle of the first inning. They found their seats and, as they sat down, Roger pointed to the scoreboard. The Sox were up 1-0.

"It's still early." Olivia raised her voice over the noise of the game, smiling toward Roger. She couldn't have been happier—she always thought that this is how it would turn out, but she couldn't help the small seed of doubt that was planted deep within her. But now, she could run home and propose to Alex right now if she wanted, and that thought alone made her the happiest person in the world.

A few moments later, Roger pulled out his phone and displayed it to Olivia. "Well, since we talked about it earlier, I want to show you this text I got from Alex the other day." He pulled up his text messages and opened one from Alex, scrolling up a little bit looking for the one he knew was buried in their conversation. Olivia smiled as she read I'm going to marry Olivia Benson and couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Roger did the same. "Well, at least she knows." He winked at Olivia and they both turned their attention back to the game.

Olivia felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She took it out and hid it from Roger's view, assuming that she knew where this conversation with Alex was going to go.

Worth your while, huh? I'd like to think I'm enough to make you leave your seat…?

Olivia smiled as she responded. Oh, you are baby. But I'm just saying that if I were there, you wouldn't be wearing all those clothes.

Alex's response was immediate. All these clothes?

Yeah. You've got about 2 pieces on that I'd take off right away. Olivia felt a little guilty sitting right next to Alex's dad as they were having this conversation, but she couldn't stop now.

Oh. Like this? Alex was sitting on the bed in the same position she had been, but she had taken off her bra, her breasts pushed together by her arms covering her nipples. Olivia couldn't believe her eyes.

Holy hell, Alexandra. You are so fucking sexy. But, I can't look at this any longer. I might have a problem at this game if I keep thinking about you like that.

I'll be waiting for you. And, god I hope the Yankees win.

Olivia smiled and locked her phone, turning her attention back to the game. She looked out onto the field and thought about the past few hours: she had broken the news to Alex about her brother, and of course, her perfect, graceful, loving girlfriend had been so supportive and accepting. Then, she couldn't have been happier with the way her conversation had gone with Roger. Overall, she was the happiest she had been in a while. Roger looked toward her and noticed the look on her face.

"You alright?"

"Oh yeah. I'm great." Olivia paused. "You know, if the Sox are gonna win one game, they should make it tonight." He looked at her curiously. "Because I'm so happy that I think I'd be ok with it—but just for tonight."