A/N: No, you aren't seeing thins. I have, in fact, updated two days in a row. Hope everyone likes this next chapter. It's a bit of a longer one. Once again, please review. I would like to know what my readers think!

"Ok so we are all agreement that it was the boyfriend who raped and beat Annabelle? Warner confirmed that it was his DNA under her fingernails and his semen inside her." Don Cragen explained to his team who all nodded to show that they indeed agreed. "Alright well it's half past four. I guess the Chief of D's wouldn't mind if we all packed up for the day and went home a little earlier than usual. We very rarely get a quiet day like this and I think we deserve a break for cracking the case so quickly. Fin, you're on call tonight, right?"

"Sure am, Cap." Fin agreed as he put his jacket on and collected his keys from his desk draw.

"Good. Well I guess I will all see you bright and early tomorrow." Munch, Fin and Elliot all left the squad room, going in different directions and Olivia headed for the children's interview room to collect Maria. Before she could open the door though, she was stopped in her tracks by Don who called out her name.

Olivia turned on the spot to face him with a questioning look on her face. "Yeah, Cap?"

"I was wondering if you and Maria would like to join me for dinner to celebrate her first day at school and your return to work?" Don asked her.

Olivia's face lit up and she nodded in agreement. "Sure. I'd like that." She told him.

"Ok, well I'll meet you both in the lobby." Her surrogate father said before turning towards the exit and leaving the bull pen.

Olivia entered the kids interview room to find Maria playing with a couple of Barbie dolls. "Hey, Grandpa is taking us to dinner. Why don't you grab your stuff so we can be on our way. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

Maria jumped up excitedly as she collected her things and walked over to Olivia who was stood by the interview room's door. "Can Elliot come too? I still haven't told him about school or my new friend or even shown him the picture I drew of us."

"I'm sure Grandpa won't mind adding one more." Olivia stated as they walked towards the locker room where she knew Elliot would be. Sure enough, there he was. Olivia silently admired his physique as he pulled a fresh T-Shirt over his head and down his toned chest. She couldn't help but wonder how she got to be so lucky to get both a beautiful child and handsome new boyfriend all within a week. It felt like she was dreaming.

"Hi Elliot!" Maria's exclamation got both adults attention. Olivia closed her mouth which had been hanging open slightly as she watched Elliot change and Elliot spun around in surprise, not knowing that the mother-daughter duo were behind him.

"Hey, Cutie! How are ya?!" He greeted the child as she hurried over to him only to be lifted up into his strong muscular arms.

"I'm good. Grandpa is taking me and Mommy out to dinner. Can you come with us?" The little girl asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure about that-" He began to decline the offer but before he could finish he was interrupted by Olivia.

"Oh, El. It's fine. I'm sure Cap won't mind. You was meant to come to my place and have dinner with us tonight anyway." Liv pointed out.

Elliot looked between his amazing girlfriend and her adorable foster daughter and found himself suddenly accepting their invitation. "Ok, fine. How can I resist two gorgeous girls?" He asked rhetorically as he tickled Maria out of the blue prompting her to burst into fits of giggles.

Don was, in fact, waiting in the stations lobby for his surrogate daughter and granddaughter for about ten minutes before he finally spotted them exiting the elevator. He frowned when he realised that Stabler was with them, holding onto Maria's hand whilst Liv held onto the child's other one. The trio were talking and laughing amongst themselves and didn't see him watching them.

Maria was the first to spot him and when she did her face lit up even more, if that was possible. Before the two adults she was with could even stop her, she had dropped their hands and ran towards Don yelling out, "Grandpa!" She collided into him and wrapped her arms around his legs.

Don's grumpy expression left his face as soon as she got to him and he immediately reciprocated the child's embrace. "Hi, Princess."

Maria looked up at him with her arms still wrapped around him and smiled. "Mommy said we're having dinner with you. Can we have pizza? Elliot's coming too!"

Don looked up at his two detectives, who were now stood in front of him, with a raised eyebrow. "Is that right?" He asked, his question mostly directed at the secret couple rather than the child who was looking between all three adults.

Olivia inwardly winced and Elliot stiffened slightly at the expression on their captain's face and the tone in his voice. Liv wound up being the braver of the two as, after clearing her throat, she was the first to respond. "I hope you don't mind. Maria asked if he could join us and I didn't think it would be any trouble."

Don heaved a sigh and shot Elliot a menacing look before looking down at Maria who was giving him expectant look which was more of a puppy dog expression. "No I don't mind. Maria wants pizza. There's a good Italian place a couple of blocks away so there is no need to take our cars." With that, he turned sharply on his heel and walked towards the exit of the station.

Olivia and Elliot shot each other sheepish looks before each taking a hold of one of Maria's hands and following the path of their boss.

The three adults and one child found themselves sat around a table in a family friendly restaurant about half an hour later, all tucking into the dishes that they had chosen from the menu. Maria and Elliot were sharing a pizza, Don was hungrily munching his bolognese and Liv had gone for the slightly healthier option of a vegetable lasagne. They were all enjoying light hearted conversations ranging from plans for the weekend to, of course, Maria's first day at her new school.

There was a lull in the conversation for a while until the silence was broken by Maria. "Grandpa?" She called looking over at Don who was about to put a portion of food into his mouth.

"Yeah, Princess?" He responded, questioning the look of confusion and curiosity that was on his granddaughter's face.

"Is it wrong to kiss someone on the mouth?" The innocent five year old asked out of nowhere.

The adults around the table all had humours expressions. Three sets of eyes widened into the size of saucers and three sets of lips were left slack jawed. Don cleared his throat and blinked a couple of times to get over his shock whilst Elliot and Olivia looked at each other, both a little unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Why do you ask, Maria?" Don questioned.

Maria glanced between her dinner companions before focusing on Don. "Because after Elliot fixed my room last week, I saw him and Mommy kissing on the mouth in the kitchen."

Elliot suddenly found himself chocking on a sip of water he had just taken and Olivia blushed a deep shade of red. If looks could kill, El would have keeled over there and then in the middle of the restaurant from the look he received from Don.

The older gentleman, who wasn't feeling so gentle in that moment – particularly towards his male detective - decided to be honest with the child who was looking at him, clearly waiting for a response to her earlier question. "Kissing on the mouth isn't wrong, Sweetie. It just means that the two people doing it like each other a lot and that's how they show that they like one another."

"Does that mean that I can kiss you and Elliot on the mouth? Because I like you both a lot."

Don chuckled to hide his embarrassment at the girl's question and shook his head. "Oh, Honey. Kissing on the mouth is only for Mommnies and Daddies." He tried to explain but this just dug them all into a deeper hole.

"But-" Maria went to question her grandpa's statement but was prevented from doing so by Olivia.

"Maria...no more kissing talk. Your food is getting cold and we need to get home soon. You still have your reading to do for Miss Holly." The new mother said a little sternly as she directed her child towards the half eaten pizza that was in between Maria and a still stunned Elliot who had gone uncharacteristically quiet.

Maria grumbled an 'ok' before going back to her dinner, unaware of the tension she had caused amongst the adults she was with.

The rest of the meal continued in an eerie silence. Every now and then Don would look between Elliot and Olivia with a disapproving look on his face. It was safe to say that the two full grown adults felt like naughty little school children caught in scandalous act. About fifteen minutes after Maria's revelation, Liv turned to the child when she realised she had been quiet for too long and saw that she looked exhausted. Her little eyes were half closed and she was chewing the last remnants of her food rather slowly.

"Thanks for dinner, Cap. I really have to go. Maria is tuckered out and she still has her homework to do before she can go to bed." Olivia announced as she got up from the table and lifted Maria, as well as both of their belongings, into her arms which was a bit of a balancing act. She kissed Don's cheek softly and Maria waved a slow gesture of goodbye in the general direction of Don. Without looking at either of the men still sat at the table, Liv said a quick 'see you tomorrow' before stalking towards the front doors of the restaurant.

"Liv! Wait for me!" Elliot called after her. She turned halfway to the exit and stood in one spot for a couple of seconds as he explained him stopping her from leaving, "I'll walk you to your car." He said, putting a twenty dollar bill on the table. Olivia shrugged nonchalantly before turning away once again and leaving to wait outside for her partner, being watched not only by Elliot but by her father figure as well.

Elliot got up to leave the table but was stopped by the not so happy older man that had remained in his seat. "Not so fast." Don spoke quickly as he grabbed a tight hold off Elliot's arm.

"Sir?" Elliot questioned, playing dumb.

"Your personal life doesn't affect mine. However, Olivia's does." Don pointed out darkly, not letting go of his hot head detectives arm.

"I don't understand, Cap." Elliot responded, sounding and looking braver than he felt. Why is it this man could somehow always make him feel like a teenaged boy all over again?

"Stabler, you're smarter than that. You're fully aware of what I'm getting at but if I have to repeat myself a hundred times, I will. Read my lips and listen to my words that way there will be no misunderstandings." The commanding officer stood up so he was now eye to eye with Elliot. "Hurt my Livy and I will hurt you. Is that understood?" He threatened darkly.

Elliot inwardly gulped and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

This seemed to satisfy Don as he then let his grip go enough for Elliot to step back a couple of paces. "I'll see you tomorrow, Detective Stabler."

"Goodnight, Cap." El responded and swiftly left the restaurant in search of Liv. She wasn't hard the find as she was stood just outside the restaurant with Maria and both their bags in her arms.

"What took so long?" She questioned him as he approached her and took Maria into his own arms.

"Oh nothing. Just talking about the case today and how glad we are that we were able to close the it so quickly." He felt bad for lying but he didn't want to go into his talk with Don, especially with Liv. "Come on. Let's get this one back to your place. You both look exhausted. It has been a long day after all."

It was twelve o'clock the next day and to say Olivia Benson was pissed off and confused would be an understatement. Elliot had been practically ignoring her all day. The only time he spoke to her was to discuss the case they were working on. Normally he would be trying his hardest to annoy her by throwing paper balls at her or by flicking her ear every time he walked by her desk and each time she tried to engage him in a conversation he would give non committal answers. The final straw occurred when she asked him a normal every day question.

"What do you fancy for lunch today, El? You paid yesterday so today it will be my treat."

"Uh...I brought lunch in with me today. No point in wasting money but feel free to take your lunch where ever and whenever you want." He replied nonchalantly before getting up from his desk and stalking off towards the men's bathroom.

Olivia huffed in annoyance and promptly stormed after him. She was so angry that she didn't even care that the smell in the men's room made her eyes water.

"Jesus, Liv! The ladies room is next door. What are you doing?!" Elliot exclaimed when he saw her in the doorway.

"I've had enough of you, Elliot Stabler! What is wrong with you today? I try and make a non-related work conversation and you just blow me off. What's the deal with that?" Olivia ranted.

Elliot huffed and pulled up the zipper of his pants before walking over to the sink and washing his hands, all without making eye contact with his partner. "I'm just not in a talkative mood today that's all. There's nothing wrong with that." He went to leave the room but Olivia stood in his way.

"I'm not leaving this spot until you tell me what's up. You were fine when you left me yesterday." Liv looked deep into his eyes to try and figure out what was bothering him.

"It's just, I don't think now is the right time for...us. You've got a lot going on what with Maria starting school, you becoming a mother so suddenly and the trial is-"

"Woah, woah, woah! What the fuck, Elliot?! Are you saying that you don't want to be with me?" Olivia asked, her eyes wide and she would be lying if she didn't feel something deep within her soul break at his crushing words.

"No, I'm not saying that-"

"Then what are you saying? Last week I told you that I didn't want to jump in and out of relationships for Maria's sake and you promised it, we, wouldn't be like that. I don't understand you...you're behaving like a real jerk you know that? I can't believe you would do this to me." Before the tears in her eyes could escape she went to turn on her heels and head towards the cribs but was stopped by Elliot who grabbed her and hurriedly pulled her into an embrace, smashing his lips against hers. Olivia pushed him away harshly and took a step back. "What the hell, Stabler?!"

"Liv, I'm sorry-"

"No! Stop right there. I never thought you would be the one guy who would hurt me like this. We are so over-"

"Cap threatened me at the restaurant last night!" Elliot whisper yelled abruptly before she could finish her last sentence, closing the gap between them.

Olivia looked at him stunned and blinked a couple of times. "What?" She mumbled in bewilderment.

"After you left and whilst you were waiting outside he told me that if I hurt you he would get revenge-"

"Are you for real?! El, do you know how ridiculous that sounds?! We're not kids for crying out loud!" Olivia exclaimed not believing that what he was saying was true. It just sounded so ludicrous to her.

"I know, I know but Liv, he just made me realise that I don't want to hurt you and ruin our friendship." Elliot begged her to see his point of view on the situation.

"So what you're telling me is that all those things you said to me in my apartment last week it was, it was all a lie?!-"

"No! I didn't lie. With God as my witness none of that was a lie. I love you, Liv. Please forgive me. When your...when Cragen started talking I just suddenly became afraid that he saw something in me that neither you nor I could see. I mean, lets face it, my marriage to Kathy wasn't exactly a walk in the park-"

Olivia suddenly burst into fits of giggles and Elliot frowned at her sudden change in mood. Liv looked up at him and swiped at her face to stop the tears of laughter from falling down her cheeks. "Oh, Elliot, I'm sorry." She said before approaching him and returning his earlier kiss when she looked up to see a hurt look appear on his face.

After a few moments, they separated for air and smiled at each other. Elliot brushed a strand of hair out of Olivia's eyes and caressed her cheek tenderly. "I take it I'm forgiven for my foolishness then?" He stated rather than asked and Olivia nodded and bit her bottom lip softly.

"You are forgiven. How about we take a break from this place and go for lunch? And don't give me that bullshit that you brought food in because I know that's a lie." She giggled.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll just go grab my jacket. It's in my locker." Elliot said.

"That's fine. I'll meet you in the lobby. There's something I have to do before we go." Olivia told him and watched him walk in the direction of the locker room. As soon as he was out of sight, the smile on her face dropped and she stormed off in the direction of the squad room. As she blazed passed Munch and Fin's desk she ignored their remarks of "trouble in paradise" and continued her journey towards the Captain's office. She didn't even knock before yanking the door open and marching into the room.

Don was on the phone but looked up when he felt a rush of air appear in the room and heard the blinds on the door rattle from being jolted. "Uh...I'll have to call you back. Something's just come up." He spoke into the phone before hanging up, not waiting for a response from the person at the end of the line. "Liv? What's wrong?" He stood up and walked over to her concerned when he saw the glare in her eyes and how flushed her face looked, a sure sign of anger.

"How dare you?!" She spat, her breathing heavy from how vexed she was.

"Liv, I don't understand-" Don went to ask her again what was bothering her but was quickly interrupted.

"You threatened him? Why?! Why would you do that?!" Liv yelled.

Don matched her glare and pointed to the chair that was opposite his own. "I won't put up with any more insubordination from you, Detective. Sit down right now and cool off."

Olivia, realising she wasn't going to get answers if she carried on the way she was, sat down in the allocated chair. She watched as Don closed the door and pulled the blinds shut after ordering his other detectives, who were looking in the direction of the office, to get back to work.

Cragen turned and faced the junior officer who was still glaring at him in contempt. "Wipe that look off of your face right now, Benson and tell me what the hell has gotten into you." He ordered.

Olivia's glare disappeared only to be replaced by a blank expression. "You threatened Elliot last night. What right do you have to butt into my personal life?-"

"I have every right if something in your personal life is going to affect your work! You know that the Chief of D's doesn't approve of relationships within squads. I don't know what you two were thinking." Don interrupted his surrogate daughter and detective harshly before softening towards the end. "I was just trying to protect you and him."

"Protect me?! Daddy...I love that man and...he loves me. I don't see what the big deal is. I don't need your protection when it comes to Elliot." Olivia shot him a puppy dog look and he softened considerably after the use of the term 'Daddy'. He sat down on the comfy couch along the adjacent wall and patted the spot next to him which prompted Liv to get up from the chair and sit on the couch. Don didn't waste any time in wrapping his arm around her shoulders and bringing her closer to him so that her head was resting on his shoulder.

"I know how you feel, Honey, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. Not only are you and Stabler two of my finest buy you are also my little girl and I don't want you to come to any harm. I'm well aware of the heartbreaks you've been through and I just don't want to see you get hurt." Cragen tried to explain his more personal feelings on the subject.

"Elliot isn't like any other guy I've met, Dad. We've been best friends for years. We know each other inside and out. He would never do anything to hurt me. He is my one chance for a healthy adult relationship. Please trust my judgement on that."

Don sighed and pushed a piece of hair behind Liv's hair so that he could see her face properly. "I trust you, Sweetie." He assured her before running his hand over his face and groaning. "But why him? He's such a hothead!" He cried in exasperation.

Olivia giggled and sat up. "That's one of the things I love about him. He's so...sexy when he's angry." She admitted, knowing that this would disturb her 'father'.

Don groaned again and shook his head. "You're dismissed, Detective Benson!" He barked jokingly.

Liv chuckled and stood up. "You're going to apologise to him aren't you, Daddy?" She asked, her chocolate brown eyes wide and innocent.

The captain of the squad sighed and stood up. "I guess I have no choice, do I?" He asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Nope!" Olivia quipped back.

"Didn't think so." Don grumbled to himself as Liv opened the office door.

"Uh, me and Elliot are going to lunch. Do you want anything brought back?" Olivia asked him over her shoulder.

"I'm good thanks, Liv. Now, off with you!" He made a shooing gesture. "And have fun but not too much fun...if you get my drift." Olivia groaned and rolled her eyes at his typical 'dad joke' before quickly leaving the office.

She couldn't leave her man waiting too much longer.