Author's Note: Welcome to the final installment of this "one shot". Excuse the sentiment, I couldn't help myself on this one so it's a bit different in tone. As always, I would appreciate any and all reviews of any length, because they are incredibly rewarding. No need to log in, just say hi in any way you feel comfortable. Enjoy!

The reconstructed park was a modern, urban product, rather than a green retreat with meadows and playgrounds. It felt a bit stiff and clean for his liking, with the many stone and wooden paths winding around the artificial pond that were probably supposed to have some symbolic meaning which eluded him. It was the kind of park destined for quick outdoor lunch breaks from court, not the type where you could spend an entire Sunday. Everything had been done on purpose, with the grass a little too short, the trees obviously lined up to match and provide shade for the benches. He was watching her for a moment as she sat on one of them, facing sideways with her legs crossed so she could keep an eye on her son and encourage him in his clumsy climbing attempt. She looked cheerful, chatting away to Noah, but then again, she usually did with him.

It was the little boy who spotted him first as he crossed the concrete courtyard at a brisk pace. He immediately abandoned his attempt to climb up onto the ledge to the grassy patch, and came running towards him. Everything Noah did was done running or climbing these days. "Wian!"

"Hey, Noah!" He scooped him up, throwing him high up in the air once before setting him down again. The child giggled and hugged his leg, muttering something incomprehensible as Brian ruffled his thickening brown hair. With his leg stuck in place, he couldn't exactly move, so he was glad to see Olivia hurrying towards him, her face radiant with joy. And so he knew, he just knew from the light in her eyes, from the way she wordlessly kissed him in the middle of a public park at lunch time. Her happiness began to spill over, and he could feel it tugging at his facial muscles, spreading to his ears and down his neck. He drew her into a reunion-at-the-airport-style hug, too stunned for words, and they remained there for a moment until Noah complained.

"I'm off, too" Elliot points out the obvious as he puts on his jacket. He could have just left with Munch a minute earlier, but no, he has to make his own exit. "We're in court early tomorrow, remember?" It's an unmistakably pointed remark he throws at them, accompanied by a disapproving glance.

"Save the parenting for your kids" Olivia retaliates, a small smile on her lips that softens the blow.

He smirks back ever so slightly, a knowing smirk, before slipping away into the crowd. "Have fun."

The second he is gone, Brian takes a much needed swig of his beer. "Stabler needs to mind his own business."

She shrugs, trying a little too hard to make it seem like she doesn't care about her partner's last comment. "He has a family to get home to." Like that was what this was about.

He does, they don't. They are still here, once again the last two people left behind at the bar, and there's no point in even pretending that it's a coincidence. It has been a long day, but right now, he has taken his tie off and she has thrown her blazer across the free stool next to her, there is bad country music playing for no apparent reason and someone standing close to them smells of bad aftershave. They have been exchanging funny stories that probably wouldn't be funny to anyone who doesn't share their morbid sense of work humour, and their conversation is marked by subtle touches, a hand on the arm here and there. They are in a different time zone. "How many kids is it again?"

"Four." She rubs her neck like she needs a massage, and he can sympathise.

"Wow."

"You gonna run after him to pat him on the back?"

"Nah." He turns to face her, resting his arm on the bar. His leg brushes against hers. "Do you ever want kids?"

"Brian!"

"Olivia." He is clueless what he's said to provoke her shocked expression. She visibly draws back from him, as if sitting too close to someone were the primary source of unwanted pregnancies.

"That's a pretty personal question."

Her indignation at "getting personal" is almost funny when he thinks about the three times they have ended up semi-drunkenly -albeit not as drunk as either of them pretended- hooking up, the way she was totally fine with things getting rather intense in the car and the encouraging things he has definitely heard her whisper while they were otherwise occupied. "Jesus, I didn't say 'let's make baby, Liv', I'm just asking in general."

That definitely doesn't seem to reassure her, as she is still scowling at him, her lips forming a thin line. She takes a slow, a very slow sip of her beer before replying. "I guess I do, someday."

"Me too." Behind them, some jackass is hooting because he beat some other jackass at darts.

Her thumb draws across the condensation on the bottle's surface as she is weighing her words. "Look, this isn't going to happen tonight. Sorry."

"Okay" he shrugs, pretending that he hasn't been dying for the others to leave so they can get a chance to be alone together and talk. Well, talk and other things, things that are very much related to how much her new lipstick is distracting him when he is watching her speak, reminding him of hurried kisses in the dark. "You know, we could just go out for drinks sometime –or food, or both- without…uh, the other thing."

She smiles at that. "I think we're allowed to say the word 'sex'."

"You know what I mean." They have been at this point before, and he can't believe he is dumb enough to try again. But he just can't seem to leave it alone, and it doesn't help that she says it can't happen again every time, and then it does. Can't they quit the game and just be boring grown-ups?

"Yes. I know." She turns to him again, and he can sense how her tone is shifting and she is moving into the breathy register reserved for crime victims, children and possibly wounded puppies. "But we've been over this; it's a bad idea because of work."

"We're not gonna work together forever."

"Sure, but we do now and I'm just not looking for anything like that at the moment."

"Like what? Like a normal date?" He isn't exactly asking her to marry him.

"You're a nice guy-"

"Yeah, yeah, save it. I get the gist." If there's one thing he doesn't need, it's the humiliating rejection speech that looks for excuses and makes it clear that she is searching for some other, ominous Prince Charming who may or may not show up. That's the thing with Olivia, though, she genuinely doesn't seem like the romantic type and it is this that makes him try and try again. But even he has a bottom line, and he will not be treated like an idiot. He needs to get all this bullshit out of his head.

"Come on, Bri, it's just-"

"I said I get it." He picks up his beer bottle again. "Just drop it."

They had sat down on the bench, his arm around her as they were watching Noah chase some pigeons with boundless energy. "You said you'd call me the minute you found out" he remarked. Instead, he had received a cryptic text message with instructions where to meet her, and had been forced to explain to Tucker why he really needed to take an extended lunch break today. "Scared me there for a moment."

"Sorry, I just…wanted to tell you like this, I guess."

"Yeah." He couldn't help making a mental note of how important it seemed to her to tell him the moment she found out. One more point for the relationship tally.

Technically, they had known that the chances that this adoption would not go through were pretty small, given Judge Linden's sympathy, Langan's consent and the caseworker's final comments before she had made her report. It wasn't like it had all hung on this one meeting; there had been a process of making a petition of adoption, and this final court date was really just the last formality. But until it was all finalized on paper, Olivia had stoically refused to be happy. He knew she had half expected Noah's biological father to show up at the last minute, rushing into the courtroom like in a bad soap opera to reclaim his parental rights. She had spent ages researching every possible scenario, looking up cases where it had been decided that the father had abandoned his rights due to the fact that he had had no contact with his child. It turned out she hadn't needed all that, which was a good thing because he didn't know how she could have coped with another legal battle. Noah was here to stay permanently, and although it was obvious that nothing could have changed Olivia's maternal feelings towards him either way, something had shifted. A huge sense of relief was hanging over them. Big brother had stopped watching. Normal life could start.

His fingers caressed her arm.. "So it's official. Nothing can change it."

"For good. Part of me can't believe it, that it's not still up in the air and that it simply worked, just like that."

"That nothing ruined it all in the end?"

She nodded, her lips pressed together. "It seems weird, for us."

"You're not gonna turn this into something dark, are you? This is good news."

"I'm just processing." She made a vague hand gesture.

"I get it. But it hasn't exactly been an easy road, it won't be."

"I know."

"Maybe you're just the best person to be Noah's mom, and that's all there is to it. Maybe…maybe it's just time for good things to happen now, because it's right, you know?" Maybe the universe wasn't full of shit for once, and she wouldn't be punished for just being happy about it.

"Maybe." She pressed out the word, fighting against the tears that were threatening to fall. It was a random switch of mood, but not surprising.

"You okay, babe?"

"Yeah." She reached up and touched his hand. "Things are good." She had told him once, in a rare moment of "sharing stuff", that there was always this negative voice, this mental commentary that she had to work to keep at bay. He didn't really want to know which shapes that voice took, but this was not a place for it. Not today. Maybe they were doing well. Maybe they could finally "figure things out", although he wasn't certain what a sorted out version of their lives would look like. For the past few years, they had always been waiting for one thing or another to get better or to be decided. Always moving from one thing to the next, waiting for normality to return or develop. What did you do when the waiting was done?

"I'm glad you're happy" he muttered under his breath, hoping it didn't come off as condescending.

"I love you." The casual statement wrapped itself around them like a blanket that didn't quite fit. It wasn't a huge revelation or anything, but she generally wasn't The One Who Said It First.

He smiled. "Yeah, you're not so bad, either."

They were distracted by Noah staggering mid-turn and falling lightly onto his butt. The little boy grimaced, torn between crying and just getting up and rushing after the pigeon. "Oops! You're okay!" she called brightly.

He gave his mother a confused look and came running towards them, then turned to his stroller instead, trying to open the bag attached to it.

"Are you thirsty? Here, drink something." She had to rummage around the bag for a moment until she found his bright red water bottle that had small airplanes on it, opening it.

"No!" Noah wasn't super chatty for his age, although the paediatrician said that he was still in the normal range for boys, but he sure loved that word. He took a sip of water anyway, refusing to let his mother close his bottle for him again with a firm "Noah!".

"Do you want to eat something?" She took out a small green clipbox, loosening the clips, and he grabbed it from her eagerly, fumbling the pieces of raw pepper and cucumber with interest without eating them. When he threw one on the ground on purpose, she took it back from him with a "no, we don't throw food", trying to interest him in an empty container instead.

He started whining, attempting to get into the bag himself to poke around in it. "Nononono!"

"That's all we have left. The rest is all gone." She let him convince himself of it, and he was not pleased in the least, mumbling in an accusing tone with an "all gone" thrown in for good measure.

"God, he's like you when the fridge is empty" Olivia commented with a smirk.

Brian decided to intervene before this turned into a frustrated pre-nap tantrum. "Look, Noah, there's a dog!" The kid loved dogs, so when he wasn't fooled by the cheap distraction attempt or the large Golden Retriever to their left, he knew it was serious.

It was the sound of Olivia's phone ringing that did the trick, although it didn't exactly help, because now Noah wanted to answer it, of course, and was vocal about making his presence known.

"Hey, Nick! No, you're not-" She laughed, stroking Noah's head as he tried to reach for the object of desire. "-it's fine, Brian's here."

He decided to give her some privacy, picking the little boy up. "Come on, buddy, let's find some more places to climb."

"Up, up!"

He opens the door, and from the second he trips over some shoes, he knows his mood is only going to get worse as the evening continues. "I'm home!" he shouts to avoid startling her, knowing that she must have heard the door. Things continue their downward streak as his jacket falls off the overcrowded hook, and taking notice that the bedroom door is closed definitely doesn't help. A closed door means withdrawal, and it's only 6pm, and he just doesn't think he can do the worried boyfriend thing all evening and try not to talk about the obvious while she puts as good a face as she can on wanting to disappear. He can't sit on the sofa in silence, filling the emptiness with idle chit chat and trying to distract her. It almost makes him wish he were back stuck in traffic from the Bronx. He is pissed off at everything today, but he can't be pissed off at her, not without being an asshole. So he respects the closed door, about to help himself to a beer from the fridge when she calls him, the sound muffled.

He walks over and pokes his head through the bedroom door. "Hey, Liv." He is surprised to find her sitting on the bed cross-legged, freshly showered and dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, her notebook in her lap.

"Hey back. How was your day?"

"Peachy. Stopped no crimes, solved no crimes, got bossed around by a dickhead who thinks he's running Homeland Security. The usual." And now his girlfriend is only half listening, half glancing at the screen, because nothing about what he has to say is new. Because it's not like anything interesting ever actually happens at work. Which is where he will spend tomorrow, Saturday, too. "What's up?"

"I think I found us a place" she says, sounding incredulous. "It's a bit outside our price range, but it's available now, the location is amazing, and just look at it, it's perfect." It's a word she doesn't use often, but more than this out of character gushing, it's her face when she says it that grabs his attention. Her dark eyes light up in a way he hasn't seen since…well, since before, her cheeks are flushed, she is relaxed, stretching one leg out in front of her now.

His mind immediately jumps to the one hundred things that will, inevitably, be wrong with this place that is too good to be true. It will have a hidden mould problem, the owners will be indebted, the building collapsing, the place will get sold and converted soon. It's what always happens whenever their half-hearted internet searches yield results within their filter range. He knows they have to leave, that this bachelor pad from before is driving both of them crazy, and they so, so need a new start that will somehow fix everything. "Is it, like, three hours away from here?"

"No, I told you, it's close. We can easily go check it out - just look at it!" She grabs his arm and pulls him around to her side.

"Shit" is the first word that escapes his mouth as she clicks through the photographs of the bright, airy, unfurnished room. He immediately gets the appeal of this open space, and still his eyes instantly wander to the Dollar sign.

"It's a little expensive."

"A little? That is outside our price range, way outside." He runs one hand down his face, shaking his head. Olivia is usually Miss Sensible, the budgeter who likes nice clothes, but doesn't splurge on spontaneous buys. He is a demoted cop, happy about the extra pay he gets for night shifts.

"But the kitchen is included" she explains rationally, like this changes everything. Already, the excitement is beginning to fade, her bright smile is becoming more strained as she tries to stay positive.

How he hates to be the bad guy. "It's just a lot of money right now."

"If you can show me a cheaper alternative…"

"Come on, Liv." She has a point there. A cheaper alternative they don't both hate at first sight, that isn't already gone by the time they contact the landlords, has been an impossible catch.

"I just thought we could go take a look, see if we like it." She crosses her arms. "I called them, and they said we could come by tomorrow after your shift. It sounds like there's a chance."

This is too fast, her deciding this before talking to him. But she is telling him about it now, clearly hoping for some sort of happy reaction, and she looks so hopeful for the first time in months. He can't ruin the moment. "It looks pretty cool." It feels like they are playing house, just pretending to be grown-ups who take that sort of step. So what if they go, and look, and pretend that everything is okay? "It looks better than anything we've seen for sure."

"So we'll take a look and keep an open mind?"

He can't help smiling. "I suppose. Just a look."

Noah ran back to his mom, wanting to sit in her lap, which was a sure sign that he was getting tired. "Hey, baby." She kissed the top of his head as he snuggled up to her. "It's been a long morning, huh?"

"He's getting harder to keep up with every day." Brian sank down on the bench again, exhausted after only a few minutes of trying to prevent the kid from falling into the pond. Noah seemed to have grown from a baby into an active toddler in an instant, which was fun, but he would never have guessed just how much energy it took. "How did he make it through court this morning?"

"He was actually pretty good, weren't you?" She brushed back his sweaty hair from his forehead. Noah wasn't listening, his gaze becoming unfocused while he fought the oncoming sleep.

"Did Nick need something?" He seriously hoped she wasn't being called into work today. This was a time to enjoy with her son. He wished he didn't have to head back to the office about five minutes ago.

"Oh no, he just called to ask how it went." She leaned back, surveying their surroundings, the lunch breakers sitting on the park benches, talking, taking off their jackets in the warm air as spring transitioned into summer while trying to hide the sweat stains on their shirts. Or maybe that wasn't what she saw at all.

The wood beneath him felt warm, heated up by the sun. There had been sunny summer days in their past, but he could barely recall their outdoor times before that one, awful summer. He turned slightly, looking at her head in profile, the way her arms were loosely wrapped around her son. She looked happy, pensive, but happy. What was going on inside her head? Where were they headed? These questions were still there, but they seemed smaller than they had a year, two years ago. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

She smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing in particular."

The End.